Icebird Prelude - Sailing through Shadow - made public

[Wired*Nun]

Arrotel gazes out at the waves, tossed by the brisk following wind onto the rails of the Marlin. The brig out of Begma had been happy to take his gold, no questions asked, and Royawis, the Captain, had been eager to have one of the Blood to shift shadow for the ship. Always hungry for the knowledge of another sea, another trade route, the chance to find some commodity unknown in the Golden Circle. And, with this crew, maybe a bit of freebooting as well. I suppose if they weren't a bit...unconventional...they wouldn't have taken such a commission.

"Bear to port past the whirlpool, Captain, if you please. I believe we are almost at our destination." The captain nods and bellows orders. A bigger ship, and the lieutenant or the first mate would be doing it, but a brig only boasted eighty men aboard, which made one watch less than thirty. Two watches were turned out now, what with the brisk sailing of the last day. Besides, this wasn't a warship, and disciplne wasn't up to military standards.

Around the vortex, giving it a wide berth, and past the headlands, the ship comes into sight of a fortress on a peninsula, guarding the harbor mouth. Behind the fortress lies a city,and within the city, somewhere...his destination.

There are enough ships making weigh in and out of the harbor for the pilot to discern the channels and bouys. Sailing is smooth, on in to the mouth. The looming fortress looks quiescent; the muzzles of cannons and the squat shapes of mortars can be seen on the battlements. "Gunpowder," remarks Royawis. "I suppose I should get the grease off the carronades and give the crew some gun practice while we're here, if our powder works. Otherwise, I'll pick up some of the local stuff...just in case."

The brig anchors in the harbor, and a pinnace made ready to put Arrotel off. "Will there be anything else, milord?"

[Icebird]

"No, thank you. That will be all." Arrotel steps off the ship and onto the pier. He'll make his way towards the fortress, keeping an ear out for the local language.
Every warlord or king or emperor needs another soldier. Let's hope that I still remember those lessons with guns that father gave me. We're probably still close enough to Amber that I won't need to learn another language. Hope not- I hate languages.

[Wired*Nun]

Arrotel steps off the ship and onto the pier.
[That's one hell of a long step, considering the ship is anchored in the harbor. He will eventually step off the pinnace, when it docks. - GM]

The language he hears is Thari, or close enough. Different accents, different dialect. The usual seaport smells and venues assault his senses.

[The fortress overlooks the entrance to the harbor, on its own peninsula, and is not connected with the city. Is this really where he wants to go? Or would he be looking for the local political or military headquarters?]

[Icebird]

OOC: Oops, didn't read carefully enough about the docking procedure- I guess he has seven league boots (grin)

Arrotel smells the salty air that always accompanies the ocean, and searches for the marketplace, if such a thing is to be found. If not, then a tavern.
Always a good place to pick up the gossip and ask around without getting too much attention.

[Wired*Nun]

Markets abound. The first one he encounters is the Fisherman's Market. Fish and seafood vie with other nautical gear, and business is brisk. He soon learns there is a textile market, a livestock market, a farmer's market, and many, many shops and taverns.

He learns nothing of any significance to his quest for a broken pattern. The kingdom is at peace; there are no evil sorcerers threatening at the moment; the Church of the Holy Pegasus maintains the religious orthodoxy and ensures evil spirits and demons gain little sway over the people.

[Icebird]

Assuming that this place is not too close to Amber, there might just be a chance that he has enough coins in his pocket to buy lunch. And assuming that there is a chance, then it is probably true. If he does indeed have said coins, he'll get some lunch that can be eaten while walking, and ask the salesperson where he might find the "Church of the Holy Pegasus." If nothing is amiss, Arrotel will head in that direction.

[Wired*Nun]

He just happens to have the right change, and enjoys a nice durum pitta lunch. Following the directions, he heads up the hill to a large church, topped by a statue of a white, winged horse . Entering the church, he is stopped by a lay brother, and asked to finish his lunch before he enters. Sitting on the church steps, he sees people of all types, coming and going into the church. It looks like it is not a holy-day, because of the markets.

Going back in, he sees a large altar, a stained glass winged pegasus above it. People are going in to pray before it, and there are booths of some kind along the sides, confessionals perhaps.

[Icebird]

Arrotel will ask the lay brother if there is a holy book he can see, and if so, search quickly for any references to a pattern or similar object. If there isn't, he'll engage the brother in conversation and try to learn the same things from him.

[Wired*Nun]

The man doesn't know anything about what Arrotel might be asking. It occurs to Arrotel that, though there is a Church of the Unicorn and, he has heard, Priests of the Serpent, there is no form of Pattern-worship or Logrus-worship that he knows about. Perhaps the division in the minds of the people is that between divinity and magic.

[Icebird]

Assuming that somewhere in the conversation Arrotel remembered to ask the man's name, he will say "Thank you for your time, (insert name here). I see that what I am seeking can not be found here. We must meet again and speak more fully of these interesting matters. By the way, who rules here, and where I might speak with them?" If not, he'll find out the name, then say that.

Not likely that I'll ever see him again, but better to have friends than acquaintances.

He will now seek the place where the ruler might be found, if he gains such information.

[Wired*Nun]

The city is called Topaz, and the King's name is Elenbik Aquetor. The city is probably about 200,000 people, pretty large by the standards of the technology. Brother Taud tells him the easiest way is simply to go west until he hits the Avenue Grande, then go uphill, it runs right into the palace.

[Icebird]

I might have guessed. I don't think I'll ever get used to this reflections stuff. The same, but not the same. It'll probably be in the dungeon too.
"Thank you once again."

Arrotel will follow the directions, and not be suprised if the pallace looks much like the one in Amber.

[Wired*Nun]

Well, there are some resemblances, but not that much, really. He arrives at the palace gates. There are guards with muskets, and they are checking the business of everyone entering the gates. Beyond, you see wagons being routed around the sides, carriages going up to the front entrance, and others, perhaps workmen, messengers, musicians, being directed to other doors.

[Icebird]

Arrotel will question a passing person about whether the castle has dungeons, and also about the legal system of Topaz.
Assuming that that castle does have any sort of subterranian part to it(probably a safe assumption) walk up to the guards with the guns importantly, and state

"You will either take me to or bring to me someone who can help me see my friend who is being detained in your dungeons as we speak. Immediatly."
This is said more as a statement of how the future will be than a request.

When in doubt, bluff. If that fails, then run away and figure out something else.

[Wired*Nun]

"Of course it has dungeons, where else would we keep our prisoners?" The man walks off muterring something about "clueless foreigners."

The guards look at Arrotel with the usual cop look. The senior of them says, "Lessee your authorization, sir."

[Icebird]

"I don't have authorization, and that's the problem! You are holding him without any cause, and I want to see him to get instructions. He was arrested at a very delicate time, you know! Is there anyone else I could talk to? It really is urgent."

[Wired*Nun]

The guard jerks his thumb at his buddy, saying, "Get the lootenant. You can talk to the lootenant."

A few moments later and the lieutenant walks up and says, "Good morning sir. My man here says you don't have authorization and you want to see a prisoner? Come on over here to my office, you can tell me all about it." He leads you into his office, shuts the door, and says, "I know authorizations are hard to come by. I might know where to get one, but you know, ink and paper are pretty expensive these days. If you could...reimburse me for the materials, I am sure I could steer you towards someone who would happily dig one up."

[Icebird]

"I don't have any money on me, but I do have quite a bit that I am authorized to spend on his behalf. How much do you think that paper costs these days? I can get it in short order."

Interesting, that he jumps so soon to bribery. I guess such things extend much further than just the royal family here. Or did I just get lucky and get the one corrupt man?

[Wired*Nun]

"Oh, I think a hundred crowns would do it. Go see the blind man begging on Turner's Row, tell him Grandy sent you. He will send you to someone, and you can explain what you need there." He opens the door to his office, shows Arrotel out and back out the gate, saying, "Sorry I couldn't help you, sir, I suggest you go through channels and try to get that authorization."

[Icebird]

Arrotel will try to get directions to Turner's Row before he leaves.
"Yes, it is a pitty. Still, thanks for the paper. I'll pay you back as soon as I've talked to that ink merchant, to make sure that it is of such quality as we dicused."

Assuing it is not too hard to find, Arrotel will search it out and look for the blind begger.

[Wired*Nun]

The lieutenant looks at Arrotel with fury in his eyes, and clenches his teeth. "You owe me nothing, sir, as I am only doing my duty. Now go, and don't come back unless you have proper papers."

Arrotel finds the blind man, who leads him to a small shop on a back stret, ostensibly selling beaten copperware. Telling the proprietor that Grandy sent him, the man flips some kind of coin into the beggar's bowl and leads Arrotel into the back. "All right, what is it you're looking for."