The Planewalkers' Journies

[Kelne]

"Burstberries for me," Asp says, engaging in the most un-kenderlike practice of paying for stuff. The example of others does help in this regard. The berries go into a pouch for later consumption; they're travel rations, after all, so they ought to keep.

[Jak Snide]

Zant simply shook his head in response.

[Idran1701]

Automata - Mona's Provisions

"All right, I'll run right down and get those for you. Anything else before I head downstairs?" She looks to the genasi. "Maybe something you'd like instead? We've got plenty of nonalcoholic drinks too."

[Kelne]

"No, I'm good," Asp says, glaring sternly at his twitching hands. He's determined that they are going to behave themselves, temptation or no.

[Idran1701]

Automata - Mona's Provisions

Noddingm she steps from behind the counter, she heads to a door in the corner, dress swishing around her hairy feet. As she opens the door, she looks back to the others. "Would you mind coming with me, then? I'd hate to get your orders wrong."

[Jak Snide]

Zant shook his head once again, instead looking down at Asp curiously.

[Besyanteo]

"Sure."

Lorraine followed along, curious to see what her stores looked like. She also half expected to find the chaos priests below, but it wouldn't surprise ehr to find out she and her group were simply early.

[Idran1701]

Automata - Mona's Provisions

Leading the way, Mona heads down the stairs, wall-mounted lanterns lighting up the spiral staircase. She seems to notice Asp's slight discomfort, smiling with amusement as she lets him take the lead of the four behind her.

At the bottom, the stairs open up into a small warehouse of sorts, with small boxes, larger crates, and a few barrels filling the walls and floor, with only a thin hallway between them, Mona can navigate it well enough, as can Asp, but for the larger folks it's something of a squeeze to get through. All sorts of materials present themselves in the backing material - wood, both fresh and old; natural-looking crystal sparkling in the lantern light; boxes constructed of thin sheets of iron or tin. Carefully wrapped foodstuffs fill the boxes, while the taps of the casks drip onto the floor. Wafting about the room is a bouquet of scents from one end of the multiverse to the other, mixing light aromas that were never meant to be mixed together and giving the whole party something of a heady sensation.

Asking for the waterskins of those wanting to taste the astral elixir, she steps onto a platform at the row of casks in the rear. She empties them into a nearby basin before filling them from the tap, glancing up at them and barely paying attention to her work as she goes through well-practiced motions. "Now, you're here for something else too, if I don't miss my guess. Hmm?"

[Kelne]

"Say, you wouldn't be smuggling chaos priests in any of these boxes, would you?" Asp asks, "Because that'd be really sneaky. A bit cramped, but definitely sneaky. Or I suppose they could just be hiding behind the boxes," he goes on, sticking his head around a couple of corners in an effort to catch them out.

[Idran1701]

I got into Notre Dame, so 600 XP for everyone :D

[Idran1701]

Automata - Mona's Provisions

With a small laugh, almost a giggle, she caps one skin and moves to the next, tossing a glance over her shoulder. "No, I'm afraid not. If it were that easy, I doubt we'd need your help. No, they're busy in town, which is why my bosses're so eager to get them out. They were supposed to stir things up a little, but apparently even that ended up a bit too much for them. Personally, I don't mind so much, but I answer to them on this. But I should let you speak to Filatiere, he's the one you'll be answering to. There's a door in the wall in back, down in the Underground. I'll show you the way once I'm done here." Her words are punctuated by a sudden quiet hacking sound from the wall, as Mona adds, "That bird of yours should probably be more careful around the dried ash rat."

Lorraine:

Spoiler:

Aaron is sad and cranky; that meat wasn't good at all!

Asp:

Spoiler:

This is just another reason Nora believes herself right that birds are very dumb animals.

[Kelne]

"Rightho," Asp says, heading over to investigate the wall because hey, hidden door. Maybe. And it always pays to keep one's hand in with such things.

[Besyanteo]

She mentally chided her silly bird for putting his beak in without knowing what he was biting into, and called him over to herself.

"Yes, well... We both have a bit of a problem with curiosity. He'll stay out of trouble from now on, though."

Lorraine offered up a few coppers for the meat Aaron took.

"So we're going to be rounding them up? Lovely."

She'd let Asp do his thing, at least long enough to wait for Aaron to settle onto her shoulder.

[Idran1701]

Automata - Mona's Provisions

Aaron finally stops hacking, perching on Lorraine's shoulder as he scrapes his feathers through his beak, doing his best to clean out his mouth. Meanwhile, Asp examines the wall, and though he doesn't see any sign of a door at first, he soon notes a knot that actually serves as a cover for a hidden latch. When released, a portion of the wall swings inwards, revealing a spiral staircase heading deeper below. In the distance, Asp can vaguely hear the sound of people milling about, though he can't make any details out.

Mona takes the coin as she hands Lorraine the first of her skins, dropping it into a pocket in the front of her dress. "Don't worry about it, I've dealt with animals before. I understand they can be troublemakers at times." With a small laugh, she fills a small plate with water from another cask, handing it over to Lorraine. "Here, let him have some of this. It should help. As for the rest of you, I'm just about done, it should just be another minute or two. I hope you don't mind the wait."

[Idran1701]

Automata - Mona's Provisions

Finally filling the skins, Mona steps back off the stool and retrieves a small, paper-wrapped bag from a shelf, handing the satchel of burstberries over to Asp with a smile. She looks over the crown and says, "Well, let's go see Filatiere then!" She takes the point as she heads down the stairs, the spiral flight ending in a small room that opens onto a four-way crossing of tunnels. Once all are out, she locks the door behind them, and starts off down the dirt-floored passage. More lanterns hang by rope from the walls, casting flickering lights on them as they maneuver their way under the city. More than a few places of business, of varying degrees of propriety, can be seen and heard, as well as what look to be other entrances to the above. And of course, they're hardly alone down here; though it's not as crowded as above-ground, there seems to be a pretty healthy population down here. Few of the lawful races show themselves, and those that do hardly appear as exemplary members of their species - a zenythri with a cheery grin, paint-splattered tunic contrasting with his purple skin, pushes past them with a satchel of groceries, a quadrone covered in dull, welded curves of metal chirps as it buzzes past their heads.

Mona keeps up a cheerful patter as she walks the tunnels, giving each of them the occasional glance to make sure they haven't gotten lost. "We're to thank for the city staying in the Outlands, you see. We keep the fun in the city. Of course, even some of the underground can't help but be stodgy, it's the nature of the place. They hoped the priests would just spread some beliefs, maybe hold some sermons." She laughs. "We're not exactly secret - that'd be a good trick here - but we mostly keep to ourselves and the guard doesn't come down here.

"Oh, here's Filatiere's office," she says as they arrive at a heavy oak door crookedly set in its frame. With a knock, the door swings inwards. A figure in a heavy leather cloak turns, about the size of an elf or a small human, but his (her?) body completely covered. A monotone voice echoes from the cloak, natural but completely neutral.

"Mona, are these the people here for the priest matter?"

"Yep, these're them. I told them you'd be able to explain things better than I could, but I gave them the basics."

"Good. Come in, then," he says as he motions to the planewalkers.

Mona looks over to them herself, stepping out of their way. "I'll be taking care of my own business, but I'll be back in less than an hour, all right? Try not to get lost before I come back; I hear some of these tunnels are haunted." With a wink and a giggle, she steps out of the room, the door closing behind them once all are inside.

[Kelne]

"Ghosts? Really?" Asp asks excitedly, "I haven't seen any ghosts in... Well, ages. What sort do you have here? See-through? Haunters of random garments? I thought you didn't get ghosts out on the planes; that or most people are ghosts, depending on how you look at it..."

Far from discouraging him from wandering, the prospect of ghosts seems a positive inducement to do so.

[Jak Snide]

Zant gave the woman a slight nod as she departed, turning his attentions to the cloaked figure before them. He accepted the priest's invitation, moving into the room, evaluating the person from behind a neutral expression.

[Besyanteo]

Lorraine was about to step in and sit down, when a thought occurred to her. They were now in the basement of the shop, and none of then had stayed behind to meet with Magpie once he'd returned from finishing their business. She didn't want him to jump to any conclusions, but they were here now and it would look bad to send someone back up now that they'd just seen their host, who obviously wanted to keep his identity hidden for the moment.

Luckily, there was an easy fix. As Mona headed off, Lorraine attempted to lightly catch her shoulder.

"I thought I should say; We have another member of our group who may swing by some time soon, very large, looks like he's all in armor made of steel and wood, round glowy eyes... hard to miss. He ought to be alone when he shows up. Keep an eye out for him for us?"

[Idran1701]

Automata - Underground

Though laughing lightly at Asp's response, she says nothing in reply, instead looking to Lorraine. "Oh, of course. If I see him, I'll point him towards you."

Once she's gone, the cloaked figure gestures to a set of chairs, waiting for the three to sit. "About a week ago, the Council of Anarchy decided that, in order to aid their efforts, it would be prudent to bring in some priests of some of the more chaotic deities here. There's no better way to add some wrenches to the works of a bureaucracy than the actions of those directly opposed to it, after all. Unfortunately, they were a bit...too effective, and now they refuse to leave. Apparently, they see it as their...holy duty to gum up the works here, and they're going much further than the Council would have preferred. We'd like you to help get them out of the city. Willing or not, but hopefully without violence. Though if it becomes necessary, we would understand.

"There's three priests that were invited here, each of a different god. The first, Öringr Alhildsdöttir, is a servant of the Asgardian power Loki, who embodies mischief and strife, that's been doing his best to get clerks and other officials fired for violation of policies. Bribery, seduction, false reports, he's managed to have 5 relieved from their posts since he arrived. He's a Ysgardian dwarf that stays around the second tavern square, in block 3 West 5 North.

"The second is Thomason of Hardby, a servant of the minor Prime power Zagyg, of Greyspace. His spheres of influence include insanity and magic, which can be quite an...aggravating combination. He's been using illusionary magics around the city to mislead guards and interfere with government processes. He doesn't seem to stick in any one location - we're not even sure if he sleeps - but if you know to look for him, you should be able to track him down well enough. The only reason the guards haven't yet caught him is we've managed to plant some false leads that it's the work of a wayward pixie troupe from Arborea.

"Finally, there's Kimura Hoshi, a priestess of Kagutsuchi, one of the powers of the Kami; representing fire specifically. A half-elf from one of the smaller villages Spireward of Bedlam, she's been keeping a fairly low profile so far. However, I know her faith has a certain...issue with authority figures, so that's unlikely to hold for long. However, for now she's the safest to remain unbothered. She has been seen spending an undue of time around the central offices, largely at night, but otherwise she's done little more than be a model visitor to Automata. She spends most of her time either in the fourth temple square located 1 West 15 North, observing and sometimes even aiding a local priest of Girru, or in the smith square located 5 West 6 North, renting time for personal silvercraft."

[Jak Snide]

Zant listened carefully, waiting a moment to ensure that the cloaked figure had finished speaking before opening his own mouth.

"What information do you possess concerning this Kagutsuchi? Is the Kami the pantheon to which it belongs?"

[Idran1701]

Automata - Underground

"Essentially; the pantheon itself has no name, but the Kami are the powers which comprise it. Kagutsuchi is something of a minor member of the pantheon. Those that follow the Kami tend to be pantheonic in their worship, following all with focus on a few. The followers of Kagutsuchi are generally an exception, though. He has strong ill feelings towards his father - one of the more noteworthy members, Izanagi - for killing him, and because of that, he's in what you might call a...self-imposed exile from the rest of the pantheon. I'm...unsure what sort of information you want, exactly, however."

[Jak Snide]

"What are the mandates of this deity?" the gensai asked in response, his tone politely inquisitive.

[Idran1701]

Automata - Underground

He shakes his head. "The Kami tend not to proceed through mandates or tenets so much as ritual and a general appreciation for one's environment. Their beliefs follow more along the lines of mutual respect; they respect the Kami rather than abiding by any sort of general mandate, and in exchange, the Kami grant them protection, and in the case of their clerics, spellcraft, of course.

"There are certain concepts that are near to mandates, however. For their religion as a whole, purification is an important concept, both physical and spiritual. They avoid the unclean where possible, and rely on many means and substances that help them to maintain their purity. As I mentioned, respect is also an important concept to those that follow the Kami, and this respect is demonstrated through ritual, and through appreciation of the many qualities of nature they see as sacred, as the Kami are said to literally embody much of the natural world.

"As for Kagutsuchi in particular...I'm afraid I can't speak much for his specific considerations, though I don't believe he is too different from the others, beyond his exile. I was not given the responsibility or researching nor of selecting the priests, and so I have not looked into the details of their deities. These generalities are all I can give you myself, you'll have to research their specifics yourselves."

[Jak Snide]

"My thanks, your information has proved helpful." Zant inclined his head respectfully to the cloaked figure before looking to his fellows.

"I would deal with this priestess, provided there are no objections to such."

[Kelne]

"Sure thing," Asp says cheerfully, having listened in on the conversation, "Say, can I come along? I think I've got a plan. Assuming your plan doesn't work out of course..."

[Jak Snide]

Zant considered the man's proposal for a moment before inclining his head in consent.

[Besyanteo]

Lorraine didn't feel that they'd need two people to track down the model citizen, but then it meant that Zant would have that much less trouble keeping an eye on Asp. She chose not to comment, but instead keep things rolling.

"I'll look into the illusionist."

[Idran1701]

Automata - Underground

The mysterious figure nods. "Excellent. Although you will be fairly autonomous, we do request you check in with one of our agents regularly, to update the Council of Anarchy on any progress you make during this. Mona will suffice, though we do have other agents if you would prefer. Proceed on your mission as you will; your only deadline is that which is self-imposed, as allowing one to be arrested or otherwise detained will only hurt your payment. If you require any resources, Automata offers plenty for you both above and below ground, although I am afraid this relationship will not affect prices for any institutions in the city. My sole recommendation is that you find rooms for yourself, as I'm certain it'll take you more than a day to take care of this. But maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised." He laughs; a strange, grating noise. "If there are no more questions, you're free to go."

[Idran1701]

Automata

With decisions made, the three leave the office, waiting for Mona's return before heading back upstairs to the street. Zant and Asp head immediately after the fire priestess, while Lorraine wanders the streets, taking in the city and hoping to pick up on a sign of Thomason.

Asp & Zant

The ease of navigating the city pays off well for them, as in mere minutes they find the square where their target is said to spend her time working. There's only one silversmith's workshop on the square, and inside, a brunette half-elf with an olive complexion in a leather apron and gloves works at a crucible, barely glancing to them as she step in. Her hair's carefully tied back as she watches the melting silver. "If you're here to use the forge, I'm afraid I've got it rented for the next 3 hours."

---

Lorraine

Walking the streets, Lorraine's path of course first brings her to the major throughway of Automata, Modron Way. A large line weaves back from the gate to Mechanus, a massive gear standing on its side, slowly revolving on its own almost like a clock. A quartet of guards stands about it, with a single clerk at the head of the line checking peoples' travel passes, and every so often an individual will walk forward, passing through the face of the gear as if it were water. It's hard not to overhear the comments of some of the line members as she passes by, eyes open for any sign of Thomason, and as the closest thing to a town square, not all talk seems to be of matters involving a trip to Mechanus.

"Did you hear about Daneel? Th' basher stopped an assault over spireward of Ribcage single-handedly. He's a credit to his order..."

"So I heard the tanar'ri are brewing up something big. Some kinda artifact or somethin'. Sounds like they'll be making another push 'gainst the baatezu soon."

"...ever move? It feels like I've been standing here forever! I tell you, wasn't this bad before Arstimis pushed through the new laws..."

"No, something fishy's definitely going on in Guvner Square. I saw the same person come out of the same building 5 times!"

"...and I'm telling you, I've dealt with lammasu before, but I've never had troubles like I did with the folks at Heart's Faith. Stay away from there if y'know what's good for you; not like it's the only way onto the Mount, after all. With enough jink..."

"Attention all citizens and travelers! The Council's updates are now posted at the Office of Order! Adventurer's tax cut by 5%! Dark-grey cement once more legal for building purposes! Punishments for usage of banned magics..."

[Besyanteo]

Most of the gossip Lorraine considered only briefly and then dismissed as being irrelevant to her search. However, the mention of that building at 'Guvner Square" sounded promising. Even in Automata, she sincerely doubted that people looked close enough to the same for the man's confusion to be unwarranted. She would go to this place immediately, and see what she could learn about it herself.

[Kelne]

"Oh, that's all right," Asp says, "I'm not really any good with metalwork. What're you making?" he wanders somewhat closer to observe the melting metal with interest.

[Idran1701]

Automata - Silversmith
Asp & Zant

"Stay back, you don't want to get hit with a splatter. If there's a bit of water in the metal, it could pop and spray you with molten silver, I can't imagine you'd enjoy that much." Moving to keep Asp away from the forge, she keeps her eyes on the metal. "It's just a sculpture. Something I do in my free time. I'd show you the mold, but I'm a little busy at the moment...so if you're not here for the forge, just what are you here for?"

---

Automata - Streets
Lorraine

Pointed towards Guvner Square, just two streets over from the Clockwork Portal, Lorraine makes her way right quick. On that square, half the block's taken up by a single building, one of the tallest in the city at three stories. Easily one of the most active spots in Automata, teams emblazoned with the insignia of the Fraternity of Order mill about, chatting with one another or the citizenry, or heading to and from the Clockwork Portal. Even so, though, with a small, well-trimmed park just a block over, Lorraine doesn't have much trouble setting up somewhere to watch the door.

While Aaron busies himself with chasing squirrels (though not catching them; it'd ruin the chase), Lorraine does her best to keep track of who's coming and going. Though it's a bit of work, over the course of the next hour or so she does get a good idea of the goings-on there. Two well-damaged adventuring parties limping in, a number of scholarly types leaving and departing while chatting about some matter of esoterica or another, one kolyarut leaving with scrolls in hand...and indeed, one fellow that seems to be leaving the building about every ten or fifteen minutes, holding sheafs of parchment as he walks the streets with a distracted smile on his face. Slightly overweight and greying, his eyes dart all about as if watching a dragonfly flitting about his head. He wears dull-grey leather armor, and the only hint of anything that might belie a holy status is the amulet around his neck, a wooden disk with a symbol carved into it.

The kolyarut is the middle one.

[Jak Snide]

"Would I be correct in my assumptions that you are Kimura Hoshi?"

Zant had heeded the woman's warning and kept his distance, though he watched her as she worked.

[Idran1701]

Automata - Silversmith
Asp & Zant

After a bit of a pause, she glances up to him. "You would be." Taking the crucible of molten metal to a nearby block of clay stabbed through every so often with thin metal rods, she carefully pours the metal into a hole at the top. "Though I'm afraid I don't know you, which naturally makes me a little suspicious of the fact that you know me. Are you from the Council?"

[Jak Snide]

The gensai inclined his head respectfully. "I am Zant and my friend here is Asp. We have indeed been sent by the council, though we do not count ourselves among their numbers. Were you expecting to be visited by their agents?"

[Idran1701]

Automata - Silversmith
Asp & Zant

Placing a cube of silver in the now-empty crucible, she returns it to the forge. "In fact, I was, but it's more the case that they would be the only ones to know my name here without my recognizing them." She steps back, allowing the next bit of metal to melt and facing them full-on for the first time, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead with a nearby cloth. They can see now that both ears are pierced along their length with a series of simple silver rings, a fairly good match for her pale-blue eyes. A full head shorter than Zant, she still holds herself with a carriage of strong self-confidence, meeting his gaze without hesitation before appraising him and Asp both. "I'm sure you were eager, but you needn't have rushed so quickly to meet me. You could have finished getting dressed first."

[Jak Snide]

Despite being mildly uncomfortable with the temperature of the workshop Zant kept his expression pleasant.

"My apologies, but we were not informed of any need to clothe ourselves in a specific fashion. Perhaps you have misinterpreted our purpose here, or are we indeed ignorant of some detail?"

[Idran1701]

Automata - Silversmith
Asp & Zant

"Oh, he's fine, but you seem to have left home halfway through. Unless you always walk around topless?

"But that aside, I"m curious what exactly it is you're here for. Nothing could possibly be the matter, could it?", she asks with a laugh.

[Jak Snide]

"Oh, it is customary for me to do so, yes." he said with a smile, realising how odd he might look to some. "As for our purpose here, the Council wishes for us to remove you peacefully from this city. That was the wording of their request, though I feel that serving their intentions would be the best course for all involved."

He waited for her reply and to gauge her reaction to the news.

[Idran1701]

Automata - Silversmith
Asp & Zant

"Ah."

She considers Zant's comment for a moment.

"No," she says with a brief shake of her head.