Character Archipelago

Welcome to the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises allow you to develop your characters in a setting shared by other authors and their characters. No sign-up is necessary; simply look over the last few pages and hop on in. If you need questions answered or a recap, head over to our discussion thread and ask; we’re happy to help. There's also a trope page (with location descriptions and other info).

Archipelago is semi-casual — no violence on the central island, but the rest are fair game. Other islands are built on-the-fly by the tropers whose visiting them, but you should probably grab a few others before having your characters head off — there's not much point wandering an island alone, since this is supposed to develop characters by bouncing them off one another and putting them in unusual situations. Be sure to communicate with the tropers you go with so you're on the same general page.

With thanks to, among many others, Gault, who came up with the initial idea, Nrjxll, who wrote the first draft I shameless ripped off, and the various people who contributed to the trope page location descriptions.

[[Current Time: Early Morning]

^{CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FULL INTRO FOR THIS THREAD} Somewhere in the vast ocean lies a small chain of islands little known to most of the world, but well-known to individuals of a more unusual nature. Beyond its outermost "hub" island, the archipelago has never been charted, because there never seems to be the same number of islands in the same places. The laws of reality get a little fuzzy here, and both directed and accidental travel from other worlds and times is easier. On the central and only charted island, where visitors most often arrive, the anomaly appears to prevent any form of intentional or accidental harm from coming to visitors: injuries are always fortuitously avoided in accidents, and attempts at harm simply do not occur.

This has made the hub island something of a designated neutral ground for various strange characters and dimensional travelers. A small cluster of buildings has sprung up near the one natural harbor and its dock: a couple of bars, a couple of casinos, several shops, and even the cheap but comfortable Pax Island Hotel. This is not a tourist trap, though, as much as amenities for the visitors that come here for various reasons. The Hotel's entrance leads out to a central square, with a shamelessly cheesy tiki bar calling itself the Big Kahuna and the Pax Island General Store being the most obvious, though not the only, services.

Inland, the island is covered in jungles that rise steeply into a central mountain, covered in ruins that don't seem to exactly match any of the local cultures. Apart from that, though, they're harmless and unrelated to the area's strangeness. The population on the island, humans of mixed origins, are quite used to the strangeness of their island, staffing the amenities and filling newcomers in but otherwise keeping to themselves.

Beyond this hub island, the archipelago grows more mysterious and dangerous. Fogs often cover the ocean, and compasses and other forms of navigation don't always work right. There are at least a half-dozen other islands at any one time, but that's all anyone can say for certain. The docks on the hub island offer numerous boats for visitors to travel to these islands, either under their own control or with the aid of a local sailor. Of course, there's always an element of risk involved with visiting these islands, because you never know quite what you'll find. One rule has proven consistent, though: any truly catastrophic event on an island tends to result in it vanishing into the fog, never to be seen again.

edited 27th Jun '14 6:59:52 PM by KillerClowns

[The Ocean -> Hub Island Harbor]

The scent of salty air filled detective Horatio Noir's nostrils as the small personal boat headed toward the island's docks.

The tall detective, whose skin was pale and possessed unusually dark, short brown hair and golden brown eyes, stood at the cockpit of the boat, which had the structure of a modern day motorboat, but had the feel and the paint job of an early twentieth century fishing boat. The detective wasn't wearing his usual suit attire, this time clad in a pair of khaki pants, brown shoes and a red polo t-shirt. He had forgone his usual fedora in favor of letting his hair rustle in the wind.

With him, was a lovely looking companion.

The woman, whose skin was a stark contrast to Horatio's, in that she was much darker, had lovely curled black hair and aqua blue eyes, sat near the back of the boat, looking out toward the island. She was clad in a pair of bright red harem pants, a spaghetti strap shirt with alternating lines of red and white and had a floppy white hat with red felt at its base.

As they approached the dock, the woman spoke to Horatio.

"Do you really think a vacation was a wise idea? Troublesome events could arise in Ashtonport."

"Amelia, I haven't had a good break in months," Horatio addressed the woman named Amelia as he pulled into the dock, "Besides, I'm sure the police will be able to take care of anything that arises."

Amelia sighed, "I hope you're right then."

Horatio tied the boat to the dock as he took their luggage and helped Amelia out of the boat. He smiled at her as they approached the hotel.

I'm going to wait for other people to arrive before I continue.

[Passenger Boat] —> [Hub Island Harbor] If anyone wants to disembark their characters from the same boat, feel free.

"Tell me again why I let you talk me into this." The woman jumped off the boat and onto the beach. She knelt down and stroked the ground; the sand reminded her of home. Home, she mused. Aya still had much to do before she could go back. She adjusted the feather in her hair, and sighed: she knew what she was looking for, and she also knew that it was not here. She helped tie down the boat, and began walking.

Jubal cared more for the destination than the journey. He hadn't grown up by the ocean, as Aya had; the salty air took some time to get used to. He hauled their luggage onto the dock, and welcomed the return to terra firma. "Um, a little help here?" He dusted off his suit and scanned the beach for Aya, spotting her at the base of a palm tree. Her skin was as white as the sand; why was she sitting in the shade on a lovely day like this?

[Passenger Boat] —> [Hub Island Harbor]

Three women stepped off the same boat that had brought Jubal and Aya, all dressed in light linen tunics and pants.

The most impressive of them was a large woman with bark-brown skin, a mane of straight, graying black hair down to her shoulders, sky blue eyes, and a face that bore several scars and had clearly been violently re-arranged a number of times. But she also had a cheerful smile that revealed a number of gold teeth, and the ease with which she hefted the group's luggage made it clear that she was very fit despite her age. "Finally," she said, her voice loud and laughing, "a vacation!" She turned to one of her companions. "Tell me, Esa, won't it be nice to get away from all those worries? Let someone else cook for a change — even if they'll certainly not do as good a job as you?"

The woman she spoke to was about her age, a lean, grey-eyed woman with a prominent hook nose, neck-length grey hair, and chestnut skin. The scent of spices and charcoal clung to her, an inadvertent but distinct and pleasantly homey perfume. She said, "Layi, dear, you've been married to me for too long to think I'll ever stop worrying. Letting someone else cook will be nice, but I know you're planning to go searching for new creatures to skewer with that crossbow of yours."

Layi turned to her wife, and tried to play an innocent expression. But she decided to give it up after a few seconds of being stared down by Esa, and confessed, "of course I am. But don't worry, sweetie, I won't be heading out alone. I'll see if I can round up some folks with a sense of adventure, and we'll see what we can bag for ourselves. No heroics, I promise; I'll stick to my crossbow as long as I can. I'll bring a machete just in case, of course, but I know I'm too old to be suplexing charging boars."

"Ahem." The third woman finally spoke up. She was a small, fragile-looking woman in her late twenties, with olive skin and dark violet hair that tumbled past her shoulders, easily lost in the shadows of the other two. "Wasn't that so-called 'boar' just a half-grown sow that just happened to run right into your hiding spot?"

Layi groaned and said, "Sonuera, you don't have to tell people that! See, if you want to be a storyteller, you have to embellish a little. I mean, it was a wild pig. Sows can be just as nasty as any boar. And let's be honest, a fleeing pig is near as dangerous as a charging one." Her voice was playfully chastising, but she smiled fondly as she said, "so let me tell the story, and you keep your little technicalities to yourself."

Sonuera shook her head and said with a playful smile, "yes, mother. I promise I won't let a little thing like the truth ruin your tales." While Layi and Esa started to head towards the motel they planned to stay at, Sonuera took a look around, then, hesitantly, joined Aya under the palm tree. "Morning," she said, by way of greeting, as she wondered where the pale stranger could be from.

edited 7th Oct '13 4:12:42 PM by KillerClowns

"I hate boats," the complaint comes from a stocky man in his thirties with brown hair and a kind face, huddled against the parapet, "and the sun. It's too damn hot."

Stood on the stern of the ship, watching the island float toward him with his hand on the hilt of a sword is a larger man, standing a head taller than his companion at about 6 foot, with deep gray skin. His face is gaunt and sincere, his eyebrows arching downward to follow the contours of his skull, giving him the impression of permanent skepticism. His hair is a fair white, contrasting neatly with his skin, and extends a few inches down his back in a pony tail. From his chin hangs a modest beard; "you only think that because you lived your entire life in permafrost. You will get used to the heat."

"That's easy for you to say. When are we going to reach this godsforsaken island anyway? This rocking threatens to make me sick. Perhaps I'd feel better if I had my axe."

"What good would your axe do you? Since you lost that arm it has been nought but dead weight," the taller man turns to face his friend, "if the need arises, I have my sword. We both know that I am the better fighter."

"Oh, of course. Stand back all! Tirisi Tilvur the god slayer comes!"

"That is a remarkable imitation of you as you were when you first met me. I am impressed, perhaps we shall yet find a use for you, Benor the other god slayer."

Benor grunts and turns his head away from Tirisi, who in turn brings his gaze back to the island, now noticeably larger.

[Passenger Boat] —> [Hub Island Harbor]

The boat finally beaches itself, and Tirisi gives Benor a kick, "we are there."

Benor grunts and brings himself to his feet, steadying himself visibly. The knotted sleeve of his right arm flaps about pathetically before settling as he jumps from the keel to the sand, "I hate sand. It gets in your boots and never leaves."

"Well then, I suppose we shall have to spend as little time as possible on the beach, will we not? There's some people over there, why don't you go and make some friends?" Tirisi gestures to the palm tree with a knowing smile on his face.

"That's still on the beach..." Benor grumbles as he begins to make his way toward the palm tree, wobbling slightly; Tirisi following some distance behind.

edited 7th Oct '13 4:40:43 PM by Majormarks

[Passenger Boat]-[Hub Island Harbor]

Three men exited the boat.

The first man, looking around his early forties, had short, red hair. He wore a gray, short sleeved shirt, khaki shorts, and black shoes. He stretched, sniffed the air, and gave a relaxed sigh.

"I told you a little boat ride wouldn't be so bad!" he said, a strong Scottish accent in his voice. He turned around, "Nathan, Thomas, come on already!"

The second man was much younger looking, seemingly around his early twenties. He had short, black hair, a black and white plaid shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes.

He nervously looked back at the boat, "Dad, I don't think Mr. Riverson is well..."

The third man, who also looked around his early forties, stumbled out the boat. He had brown skin and had black hair. He wore a white buttoned shirt, kahki pants, and black shoes.

He covered his mouth. "I think I'm going to throw up...George, I told you we should've just flown here."

George grunted. "Thomas, why the hell didn't you tell me you had sea sickness?" He grabbed his arm and slung it around, "Ah, don't worry about it; we'll find a good hotel and then we'll go explore. Can't have you getting sick so early on this vacation."

"Yeah, but first, let's go talk to the others, try to make some friends." Nathan said, looking at the other passengers that left the boat. "Shouldn't be too hard."

edited 7th Oct '13 5:21:11 PM by Masterofchaos

[Pax Island Harbour]

Generously scattered around the harbour, mostly stapled to various posts, are a number of old and tattered flyers. "Life got you down?" Reads the headline, sometimes barely visible, depending on the condition of the flyer. "Come to AL'S CASINO AND BAR for good food, good drinks and good company!" Below the text is a picture of a young, tall and muscular bright-eyed thirty-something with a big grin on his face, giving a thumbs-up to the camera, and thus, the whoever reads a flyer. He is standing in front of a new, cozy-looking building with a bright, clean neon sign out front that says Open! At the bottom of the flyer is a set of directions to the bar from the docks.

Curiously, a note has been attached to each of the flyers. Seemingly, this is was done quite recently, as the paper all looks crisp and new, though the handwriting is rather messy. "FUN & GAMES ! SIN & VICE ! TIME & SPACE !" is written on each of the curious notes. "COME AND SEE SAM FOR SOMETHING TO DO ?!? USE THE RED DOOR IN AL'S BAR ! IF YOU DARE !"

[Passenger boat -> Hub Island Harbor]

Earlier...

Isaac Hansen barreled through the door and slammed it shut behind him as quickly as he could, breathing heavily. He braced himself against it, his clockwork arm whirring and clicking in protest, expecting yet another flurry of blows as the monsters chasing him tried to smash through.

None came.

After a moment of confusion, the tall, blond man slowly relaxed and opened the door a crack to peek through again. His jaw fell open as he saw what was on the other side. Things had had... changed. That was nothing new, of course; the interior of the castle was prone to all sorts of weirdness. But usually the change was just from one dark, gloomy passageway to another. This time, he was greeted with fresh air, sunlight, and the smell of the ocean.

Initially, he had thought this another one of the Maker's cruel jokes, but slowly he realized that somehow, he genuinely wasn't in the castle anymore.

He smiled and let himself sink to the ground. Finally, he thought, I get to rest.

Isaac still hadn't managed to wipe that grin off his face by the time the boat came in to land. He stepped off the boat, gave the rest of the group a once-over, and walked over to join them.

[Hub Island Harbor]

Sonuera leaned against the tree and studied the newcomers, eyes lingering warily on the Tirisi and Isaac in particular. She nodded at Tirisi and Benor as they approached, but remained quiet. She supposed her mothers would want her to socialize, but it wasn't really her specialty, and the harbor was getting a bit too crowded for her liking.

Layi took one of the fliers — which the island's residual magic quietly translated into the Uelane syllabary — and slowly read it over, occasionally sounding out the words. Then as the meaning sank in, she grinned.

Alarmed by her grin, Esa snatched the paper and skimmed it over. "Let me guess," she said, "you're planning to pay this 'Sam' a visit?"

Layi smirked at this and said, "yep. Wasn't born yesterday, though. Gonna make sure I've got some folk with me 'case this Sam fellow turns out to be a slaver or something."

Esa nodded in approval at this. Then she looked over the crowd with interest and said, "okay, for now, you get those packs to our room. I'm gonna see what's up with these outsiders."

Layi said, with teasing good humor, "always pleasure to be your pack-camel, my dear." But she went off to the motel anyways.

[Motel —> ul'Netho room]

Layi found the motel easily enough; it was hard to miss its neon glow. The place was alien to her eyes, but oddly comforting — it was a far cry from the rustic Laughing Bird inn she and Esa operated, but there was something familiar about the Aurora's lack of pretension.

edited 7th Oct '13 8:08:56 PM by KillerClowns

[Beach]

Aya opened her eyes and looked around. She had company, figures she recognized from the boat. Sitting on the opposite end of the tree was the olive-skinned girl, and approaching were the blond man, the brunet man, and the grey-skinned... whoever he was. I was here first, she wanted to say. Does this make me one of those "liked it before it was cool" people? Shoot. Out of politeness, Aya remained quiet. She leaned her head against the tree and closed her eyes again.

[Hotel Entrance —> Lobby]

Jubal looked at his paper, and back at the sign adjacent to the door. Pax Island Hotel— yep, this is the place. He wheeled his and Aya's cases into the lobby, and checked in at the front desk. Simple enough— reservations for one room, two beds. Jubal knew that his companion would be arriving soon, so he was sure to give the receptionist a description; light skin, dark hair, goes by the name of Aya. He continued to the elevator.

edited 7th Oct '13 8:13:28 PM by Blueeyedrat

Passenger Boat -> Pax Island Harbor

On the heels of the others leaving the boat emerged yet another pairing of travelers.

The first of the two appeared to be a girl of around sixteen. She was rather short in stature, in addition to being somewhat thin. She wore what appeared to be a well-worn school uniform consisting of a white, short-sleeved top and a red pleated skirt that was somewhat shorter than one would expect from a school uniform, capped off with a pair of loose socks. She appeared to be Japanese in ethnicity, though that was somewhat dubious due to her most noticeable features: her hair was golden in color, and her eyes were blood red. She didn't seem to be particularly thrilled about being here, judging by the worried expression on her face.

Her companion was a fox; to be specific, a Hokkaido red fox. In physical appearance, it appeared to be perfectly typical for a member of its species. However, the way it examined the surrounding area and the people within it strongly suggested that it was much more intelligent than any normal fox.

Seconds after their arrival, the fox looked up at the girl and said, with a masculine voice, "Well, it seems we've taken a detour."

"Detour?" the girl responded, "We went and got ourselves lost." She glanced towards the fox, motioning out towards the rest of the area. "Does this place look anything like Japan to you? Does our journey even require a boat trip?" She sighed.

The fox rolled his eyes. "And I suppose you're going to blame me for this? You can't honestly say you were expecting a nue to give us a solid answer." He looked out at the rest of the populace again. "At least this land appears to be civilized. We might as well ask around and see where we are." With that, he got up and trotted off.

The girl sighed again and followed. In the meantime, she started poking at the mind of anyone she didn't recognize. She was thankful to find that most seemed to be here for a vacation, though she had her doubts about some of the more rough-looking ones.

[Harbor]

Esa looked around the group before deciding to investigate the man with the clockwork arm. "Morning," she said, bringing a fist to her chest as a greeting. "You look lost. Where you from, stranger?"

[Motel —> Al's Bar]

With her family's luggage unpacked, Layi decided to give the enigmatic Al's Bar a visit. She confidently strode in, and said to the bartender, "bourbon. Neat. No rotgut, but no fancy crap you gotta serve outta Valmoth glass either."

edited 8th Oct '13 6:24:21 AM by KillerClowns

[Harbour]

Tirisi brings his eyes down to meet Aya, who still has her eyes shut. Eventually he shrugs and looks at Benor who looks back at him.

"Go and fetch one of those sheets of paper," Tirisi says. It's phrased like a polite request, but the tone with which it is delivered stamps out all possibility of refusal.

"Why don't you fetch one, if you want one?" Benor retorts indignantly, "I wasn't aware I was your servant."

"You are not my servant. That does not mean you get to say no."

Benor grunts, shrugs and begins marching along the beach to a small upstanding post, attached to which flyer waves in the sea breeze.

edited 8th Oct '13 7:41:23 AM by Majormarks

[Hotel]

With a swipe of his keycard, Jubal entered the hotel room. It was well-kept; a main room with furniture and a TV, connected to two separate bedrooms, a small kitchen, and an impeccably clean bath. At first glance, it looked roomier than his apartment back home. Jubal set down his and Aya's suitcases in the front chamber, and threw open the curtains to flood the room with light.

He took a brief respite on the balcony, and gazed at the world below. He didn't mind the height; back in Arc, nearly everything he knew was vertical. From up here, Jubal thought he could see half of Pax Island and the human-like ants that walked on the ground level. He took a deep whiff of the air. Ugh. Still salty. He re-entered and set his violin case on one of the beds. This one's mine. First come, first serve.

[Harbor]

Thomas groaned, his stomach turning.

"Can you please sit me down for a minute?" he begged, "If I walk anymore, I think I'll hurl."

"Please don't." George said, sighing as he sat Thomas on the ground. "Alright. But after this, we're finding a hotel."

Nathan kept letting his eyes wander around. Most of the group had either went into the hotel (or the motel) or were already talking to each other. He did, however, see a teenage girl with a...fox? Was that her pet? And why was she wearing school clothing in the middle of an island? It seemed that she was lost, given by her worried expression.

Curious, he walked up to her. "Hey. You need some help?"

[Hub Island Harbor -> Pax Island Hotel -> Al's Bar]

Horatio and Amelia casually walked into the hotel, checking in and heading toward their room in a small time span.

Their room wasn't very large. It had a simple two person bed with nightstands on either sides, an dresser and a door to the bathroom. The two worked to unpack before heading out of the hotel.

As they left the lobby, Amelia spotted Al's Bar and motioned Horatio to come with her. The two entered and sat down at the bar near Layi, two tropical looking alcoholic beverages arriving in front of them. They exchanged glances before proceeding to sip their drinks.

Harbor

The girl flinched a little out of surprise when someone spoke to her, but she took only a moment to recover and turned to face that someone; a young-looking man. She didn't respond immediately, instead deciding to search through his mind. Upon both learning his name (Nathan) and seeing that he meant well, she knocked it off quickly.

"Yes, actually. We're both very lost," she responded.

The fox, upon hearing his companion speaking to someone else, looked over his shoulder at the two of them. "Making friends already, Kaguya?" he asked, before joining her and looking up at Nathan. "Indeed. Due to stupidity, we are many lengths away from our intended location, and I do not recognize this location. Might you know something about this place?"

He knew full well what the general human response was to meeting a talking fox for the first time, but he didn't take any pains to lessen the surprise. Granted, most of the time he didn't bother speaking to humans unless he had a very good reason to, but seeing them freak out was something that never got old.

[Hub Island Harbor]

He didn't usually get the chance to just fly on his own. Flying was something he did for work, combat flying; uncoordinated maneuvers at high speeds, an exercise in energy conservation and rate of roll. And while there was an amazing thrill to going hypersonic, it wasn't something you ever did for fun. Still, why not? Not supersonic, here, didn't want to scare anyone, but a good point eight or so...

Over the breakwater and down to ten meters, throwing up spray, impossible not to notice; shallow dive meant to terminate on the shore. Dodge any boats because you don't want to damage them. Split-S at a twenty meters from the shore, end parallel to shore at fifty meters, upwards loop, split-S again to two hundred and facing the shore, dead stop inside five meters.

God, it was glorious to just be able to fly. Samuel al-Faddil settled to the shore at a much more reasonable pace, in just the loose black shirt and loose black pants that normally constituted the "under" part of his uniform; not the full Jacket, but enough to protect him somewhat from a crash.

edited 8th Oct '13 6:08:21 PM by Night

[Harbor]

Nathan's eyes widened and he fell back, letting out a scream.

George quickly turned his head. "Nathan? Nathan, son, are you alright?"

Ok. It was just my imagination. Nathan thought, Y-Yeah that has to be it. I'm just tired from the boat ride. That's all. That's all that is.

He stood up and dusted himself off. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine dad." He cleared his throat, then resumed the topic. "S-Sorry about that. I was just seeing and hearing things for a moment." I hope.

Thomas glanced at Samuel, feeling slightly envious that he was able to fly around. Meanwhile, he had to travel by boat, and ended up like...this.

edited 8th Oct '13 6:30:58 PM by Masterofchaos

[Harbour]

Upon hearing Nathan's scream, Tirisi turns to face the group and jogs over, stopping at the young man as he dusts himself off;

"Is there a problem? Screams are rarely elicited without cause."

edited 8th Oct '13 7:01:31 PM by Majormarks

[Hub Island Harbor]

Esa rolled her eyes at Samuel's demonstration.. She'd heard the Kykzavi had flying machines, though not so fast and graceful. But she knew the sight of a boy showing off, and the pilot — clearly not a Kykzavi, by his lack of facial tattoos — was such. Age was irrelevant, she pegged him as a boy in spirit, and decided not to honor his antics with any sort of reaction beyond saying to Isaac, "kids, eh? Always showing off their toys."

Meanwhile, Sonuera, aside from jumping a bit at Samuel's antics, remained quiet. It was clear she wasn't going to start any conversations without prodding.

[Al's Bar]

Still waiting for her bourbon, Layi nodded at the newcomers. "Morning," she said to them. "You just here to get a few drinks before seeing what the spirits throw at ya, or you got some other sorta business here?"

If there's nothing from Blackfire, who is evidently taking control of the bartender, by tomorrow afternoon, I'm automating the bourbon delivery.

edited 8th Oct '13 7:27:57 PM by KillerClowns

[Al's Bar]

Not at all the newly finished, cozy-looking place shown on the flyers, Al's bar looked quite old and weather-beaten on the outside. The neon sign was nowhere to be seen, much like the bright-eyed young man in the picture, though the presence of patrons suggested it was open. The inside wasn't much better; a surly, rough-and-tumble group filled the establishment, quietly discussing things in various languages as they nursed their drinks. Many tables remained empty, and some looked like they hadn't been used in days. It was a dingy, depressing place frequented by a bitter, restful crowd... But some might say it had character.

A sign on the wall behind the bar said "adventurers wanted".

One person stood out from the crowd, and she looked a bit young to be hanging out in a place like Al's. She looked to be about sixteen, but in fact was slightly younger than that, and she sported a simple black t-shirt and tattered blue jeans, fasted to her by a plain brown belt. Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail, her eyes were brown and she was Caucasian. Interestingly, though, she had a sword sheathed and on her back. A katana of sorts, by the look of it. "Come on!" She insisted, standing at the bar. "I can do it! Just give me the job!" The man she was talking to, the bartender, was very tall and exceptionally muscular. He wore an old apron that looked like it had been through a lot and was too small for him, and much of his face was covered by a thick, bushy, brown beard. His skin was quite pale, and his eyes were a dull shade of blue. "Get lost, kid." He said, gruffly. She frowned and sat down at the bar, scowling at it.

"Welcome to Al's bar." He said, rather apathetically, walking over to the newcomers. When Layi made her request, he scoffed a bit. "If you're looking to avoid fancy, you're in the right place, lady." He poured her some bourbon from an unmarked bottle and passed her the glass. "Hope you've got some money with ya. I got too many people runnin tabs..." He grumbled, as he headed to Horatio and Amelia. He paused for a moment when he spotted their drinks. "Where the hell..?" He muttered. "Ah, never mind. Just make sure to pay for those." He shook his head, uttering something about being 'too old for this crap' under his breath as he briefly headed into the back room to clean some dishes.

(EDIT) Much like the strange note tacked onto the flyers had suggested, there was indeed a red door in Al's Bar, opposite the front entrance. It looked incredibly out-of-place and stood out quite a lot, but none of the patrons seemed to want to look at it.

edited 8th Oct '13 7:31:50 PM by Blackfire667

Harbor

The fox let out a quick bark of laughter upon seeing Nathan's response. It wasn't quite among the best he'd ever gotten, but that didn't mean it wasn't hilarious.

"You keep telling yourself that," he said in response, before his voice became somewhat indignant. "By the way, you still haven't answered my question."

At this point, Kaguya rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Hayate? We just met this guy and he's trying to help us, and you're already messing with him?"

"I have to get my kicks somehow," Hayate responded, flicking his tail back and forth, "It's been a while since I've had the opportunity." He then sighed somewhat disappointingly, "But I suppose you have a point." With that, he turned back to face Nathan, raising a paw to his throat. "Ahem," he started with a much more formal tone of voice, "No, your ears do not deceive you. Do not be alarmed; I have no malicious intent. We must know where we have found ourselves, and would be quite thankful for any information you could give us."

While Hayate spoke to Nathan, Kaguya warily looked over the newcomer. Naturally, she was soon sifting through his thoughts, learning that his name was Tirisi, and that despite the appearance he had no ill will, at least not now.

[Al's Bar]

Layi downed the bourbon in a single gulp. It was strong, vicious stuff that burned going down. It wasn't likely to win any awards, but it lacked the vile notes of the unforgivably terrible. Exactly what she'd been hoping for.

She glanced at the pale woman with the sword and said, "what's this about a job? Something to do with that red door?"

[Harbour]

Satisfied that nothing of particular significance had occurred, Tirisi turns back to see Benor traipsing across the beach, clearly grumbling to himself as he does so. As he reaches Tirisi, he hands the flyer over;

"I'm going to look at this 'Casino and Bar'. If they got drink, I'm happy," Benor turns on his heels and begins walking away without waiting for a reaction from Tirisi, who glances down to the flyer, watching the text shift into the lexis of his mother tongue. After taking the information in, and tucking the flyer behind the padding of his armour. His eyes focus on the girl that had accompanied the (apparently verbal) fox, who has her gaze sitting lazily upon him;

"That is a look I cannot bring myself to trust."

edited 8th Oct '13 7:44:37 PM by Majormarks