[Western Amalgamated tent, Showcase Hall]

Through a generous payment in the form of solid gold, Western Amalgamated managed to obtain a large tent to themselves. The tent was made out of a eye-catching white material, only recently developed, that felt like polyster and seemed to glitter in the light. Everything inside the tent seemed to have been custom designed to match a very specific aesthetic: sleek and white, with friendly pastels, mostly spring green with touches of rose, highlighting where the consumer's eye was supposed to wander. Barely-noticeable speakers pumped in soft, anodyne, pseudo-New Age muzak, light electronic tones mixed with nature sounds.

From within, the scents of hotdogs and hamburgers the grill wafted out. They smelled delicious, and only obligate carnivores and the most refined of palates would be able to guess they weren't made of meat if not for the sign explaining that they were actually a vegan meat substitute developed from specific (and patented) strains of algae. Alongside them were several trays of sushi rolls. Well, sort of; about a quarter of the rolls were traditional futomaki, but the rest of the offerings, though done in the same style, were what could be called either "fusion cuisine" or "American bastardizations" depending on how one felt about such experimentation. An outside sign said "three tickets per customer. 1 ticket = 1 burger, 2 hot dogs, or 6 rolls. Burgers and hot dogs vegan, sushi contains sustainably farmed fish." A ticket dispenser was outside; there was only the employees memories to enforce this rule.

The uniforms of the two women managing the tent seemed equally influenced by idealistic (and high-budget) Space Opera and police dress uniforms. Like everything else associated with Western Amalgamated, the uniforms were sleek, and colored primarily pristine white with spring green trim and accents. They included prominent badges displaying their names and an ID number of eight hexadecimal digits. Where an insignia might be on a police uniform, there was a circular patch with the modern green-and-blue hummingbird silhouette of Western Amalgamated, over the same hexadecimal ID as the badge.

The shorter woman, whose badge read, "M. Xiong", appeared to be in her mid-thirties. She was a stocky woman with light skin, dark eyes, and short, loose black hair. Her uniform was more decorated than her companion's, with pink lapels and fern-like patterns of gold stitched on the shoulder marks, around but not obscuring her ID number. Xiong hummed tunelessly to herself as she worked, taking an obvious pleasure in her grilling, but a faraway expression on her lips suggested at least some part of her mind was wandering elsewhere. "Olara," she said, managing the grill even as she looked over at her companion, "what do you think so far?"

The taller woman was only slightly younger and had a deceptively delicate-looking build. She had russet skin, green eyes, and crinkly, sand-blonde hair that was grown as long as was reasonable and tied above her head in an intricate mass of braids and loops. Her badge identified her as "O. Veneris", and her uniform had an armband bearing a medic's red crystal. (The same symbol could be found on the tent's medical kits... of which there were about a dozen or so.) "It's all quite... I mean, Terra was one thing, but this..." she looked around. "Can you feel that in the air? That... potential? Dreams, secrets, wishes, truths..." Veneris reached out two fingers, as though to pluck something from the air.

Xiong shrugged and said, "yeah, it is a heck of a thing. Hopefully it stays this quiet; Alice seemed a bit on edge, y'know? Told us to keep an eye out."

"Of course," Olara said, "that goes without saying in a place like this. But you can appreciate a place while still being on you guard. Have you no curiosity about what strange people may find themselves here?"

"Yes," Xiong said, "of course I do. But... well, after the last time I ended up in a place like this," she shook her head, "I'm only here because Dr. Rose personally promised me a huge bonus."

[Courtyard]

She was a beautiful woman in her early twenties, surrounded by a perfume of tropical flowers, and with a bearing that clearly marked her as a noblewoman. She was tall, lean, and dark, with sharp, imperial features, a smooth-shaven scalp, and blue eyes. The noblewoman wore a tiered skirt of several layers of thin silk; the innermost brushed the ground and was a pale mint green, while each above it shifted to a darker shade, ending at a deep, leafy tone. Aside from the skirt, she wore a belt around her hips with a number of pouches and satchels, and numerous golden armrings, braclets, and other bangles, but otherwise wore nothing above her waist.^note Though she has since obtained and thrown on a kimono from the Youkai Showcase.

She used a simple staff as a walking stick, though her confident stride suggested it was a fashion choice, not a necessity. The staff was just over four feet in length, of dark wood crowned by a steel disk etched with a calligraphic symbol far too intricate in both meaning and design for the fair's magic to instantly translate. It seemed to be a symbol as much as anything, but a skilled blow with it would easily break bone.

After a brief walk around the fair, she found a seat and opened the largest of her satchels, pulling out a quill pen made from some tropical bird, an inkpot, and a journal with two labels. The first, in her native tongue, read "Property of Crystal Tree", but the second, in Elasane (or Uelane — the two languages used the same script), provided a cultural rather than literal translation: "Property of Suela". She then jotted down a few notes. Temperatures like low mountains, though not uncomfortable in my current dress. She looked up and made a brief pass of the various people. Those were always the really interesting thing. The local population has more ethnicities than I can count. Light mountain clothing and a wig would help me blend in. I also see a few other entities, who seem to be sentient. Most curious. And amazingly, I think this place may be more advanced than the Yoth Empire. There may be something to learn here.

edited 2nd Feb '15 8:44:42 PM by KillerClowns

Cloud Gate Hotel - Room 1453 (Nioba, Lihiri)

Lihiri awoke, slipped out from under Nioba's arm, and made her way to the shower. She shuddered with pleasure as the warm water fell on her - the home that she shared with Nioba in Baystone had a water heater, but they spent far too little time there.

She soaped herself down, then washed her hair. She quietly sang to herself:

"One day we'll be able to handle the truth,
Our mem'ries will cause us no pain.
No more will we mourn for the lives we lost,
Our lives will be ours again.

"The fruits of our labor will be ours alone,
By hands unencumber'd by chains,
Our babes will be born by flesh and blood,
Our lives will be ours again..."

Nioba entered, embraced Lihiri from behind, and kissed her cheek. "Good morning, my love," she purred.

Lihiri turned in the embrace and kissed her lips. "Good morning. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"Nah, I was going to get up, anyway." She held Lihiri and let the shower wash over them both. "This is nice, isn't it?"

"Mm-hmm."

Nioba sighed. "We promised to meet Adrien for breakfast, didn't we?"

"Yes, my love. Which means we'll probably have to get dressed. I mean, theoretically, we could just show up naked and claim it's a cultural thing, but he seems like the type who would startle easily. Also, the lump would probably scare him off..."

"Damn. Help me wash up, then..."

After their shower, they went to get dressed, but their clothes had not yet returned from dry cleaning (on Muttra, it was common practice for guests at inns to have their clothes laundered while they slept.) The hotel had given them a selection of more modern attire - Nioba selected a black and white letter jacket, a grey crew shirt, jeans, and sneakers, while Lihiri chose a grey flannel skirt, sneakers, a forest green turtleneck, and a dark red blouse. (There were also socks and underwear, but there was nothing particularly special about them.)

They took the elevator down to the lobby, where they found Adrien waiting for them. "Hail, Adrien!" Nioba called out.

"Good morning!" Lihiri cried cheerfully.

edited 28th Jan '15 7:00:56 PM by StrixObscuro

[Courtyard]

A female qrtxian wandered in through the gates and into the courtyard in an aimless, vaguely distracted fashion. Like all of her species, the qrtxian resembled an alien out of humans' mid-20th century UFO mythology, with a small stature and an oversized head with disproportionately large eyes. Also in keeping with the myth, the qrtxian appeared to have grey skin; however, a closer inspection would show that it was actually fine scales, one sign of a reptilian evolutionary ancestry that was also betrayed by the red, slitted eyes, which periodically blinked to reveal a second, membranous eyelid.

This particular qrtxian had unusually large eyes for her species, and slight differences in the color patterns of her scales which gave her head and exposed forearms a mottled appearance. She wore pale blue and yellow casualrobes; loose, lightly layered garments that ended at her knees and elbows; and gray leggings and boots underneath them. The front of her robes were decorated with intricate, bright silver alien glyphs. On the left side of her face, three small metal strips were attached in the rough shape of a wide "C". In her right hand, she carried a flat pentagon made of an opaque crystalline substance; while it appeared featureless, she was regarding it with close interest and periodic angry mutterings in an alien language.

The qrtxian will continue to amble around the courtyard until either someone speaks to her or I send her somewhere else.

edited 27th Jan '15 11:39:30 PM by nrjxll

[Cloud Gate Hotel]

Adrien stood waiting for the two of them in the lobby. He'd had a fitful sleep and had risen early, spending the early morning nervously pacing back and forth and running through possible action plans in his head.

Despite the wide selection of clothing that the Hotel had on offer, Adrien was still wearing his colorful dress uniform- red white and green, with gold trim- though it was apparent he had made an effort to make it a bit more presentable now. He had straightened out some of the creases and daubed over the more obvious bloodstains with a towel and soap.

When he spotted them, Adrien walked over. He nodded to Nioba, then to Lihiri.

"Morning. Did you two rest well?"

Market Hall (Youkai Showcase) (Mahiro, Nagako)

Mahiro was always quite early to rise, and today was no exception. He and Nagako had been working diligently to get the Youkai Showcase back up and running, and by the time the fair properly opened to more guests it was fully set up and ready for more customers.

He had taken the opportunity to do some rearranging since the previous day. The silks were displayed much more prominently as he hadn't sold very many of them yesterday and he felt he could sell more of them; notably, a pile of them replaced the swords from yesterday. He had also hung up a few kimonos to the right of his usual position.

He had still chosen to display the swords, but today they had taken the place of Nagako's beetles. He really did want his daughter to follow in his footsteps, but if she was going to be too attached to her goods then they weren't worth the trouble of selling. Besides, he had something different in mind for his daughter today.

"Do you wish for me to stay, Father?" Nagako asked once all was set up.

Mahiro shook his head. "Beetles aside, I do think you did good yesterday. As such, you have my permission to explore again today. If nothing else, having you wandering around may draw more business to our stall." He looked out over what he could see of the rest of the Market Hall from where he stood. "I may need you around here later, however, so you may not want to go too far. In addition, you may want to wait until later when there's more activity. Not everyone is as...functional in the morning as we are."

Nagako nodded. "Thank you, Father."

She took her father's advice and didn't leave immediately. Instead, she stood at her spot yesterday, although today she wasn't selling anything and she wouldn't know anything about the swords in front of her regardless.

[Cloud Gate Hotel Lobby - Somlan Erris, Karl Emmesin]

"No, no, no, I'm not fucking telling you what to do."

"Ah, sir, that is the—"

"I know I'm talking to the fucking King, Erris! I'm the Vizier, I know who I fucking work for! Doesn't give him leave to be a fucking dolt!"

"...Actually, it kind of—"

"Gentlemen, please," came the third voice, from Emmesin's hand. "Erris, please be quiet. Karl, you know I trust your judgment, and I understand that you disapprove of this mission. You said as much before you left. But we've expended significant resources to get you there, so under no circumstances are you to return without accomplishing something. I'll not tell the Circle that I put two mage-knights into a catatonic state just to send you on a shopping trip."

Emmesin clenched his fists, but opened the left one when he realized he was covering the King's face. Kellis frowned up at him from his palm, across heaven-knew-how-many universes. The spell gave him a faint halo. Emmesin thought that might fit the definition of "ironic". Or maybe not. He wasn't the literary sort.

"I'll continue to search," he said quietly.

"Thank—Wait."

Silence. Emmesin stared at his hand; the King was distracted, looking off somewhere Emmesin couldn't see through the spell. He heard muffled voices, but nothing came through clearly except—"...troubling. Very well. Thank you, Admiral."

"Troubling?" Emmesin repeated. The verbal question mark was unmistakable.

"One of the mages who sent you has recovered already, but she's..."

"So it's true?" Emmesin said after a pause. "They're not just out cold, they're actually partially here?"

"It seems that way, yes, but that's not important."

"Not important!" Somlan blurted. "That's incred—"

"Shut up!" The reply was simultaneous from both Emmesin and the King. Kellis continued quietly, "What is important is what she saw while she was... I suppose 'trapped' is as good a word as any. She..."

Emmesin made an annoyed sound. "Well? I don't mean to rush you, sire, but as you so helpfully pointed out, we're on a mission."

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry. She's not entirely coherent yet, Emmesin, so take this with a grain of salt, but she heard whispers between the worlds. Cracks, traces of other passage."

"That can't be unusual here," Emmesin said, saving Somlan the trouble of pointing it out. "This whole Fair is full of people traveling between worlds like us."

"Yes, but... She heard the name 'Aeron'."

Oh. No one wanted to say it, but Somlan had never been adept at not saying things: "That's not good."

[Courtyard - Masum]

The day was already reasonably warm despite the early hour; perhaps it was artificial, though if that was true, then whoever managed this place had remarkable technology or magic at their command. In the courtyard, Masum sat on the edge of the fountain, enjoying the morning. He was dressed more conservatively than usual—he'd dispensed with the Saavik robes and headdress, for one thing, since he was no longer among savages. Here, he ruled no one, which was refreshing. No need to put on a show to ensure the vermin stayed in line. Instead, he wore simple dark trousers and a comfortable white shirt. He had brought a coat, but as warm as it was today, he didn't think he'd need it. One of his friends was carrying it, at the moment, along with some other supplies. He'd kept his Saavik boots, which looked a little out of place with the simplicity of the rest of his clothing, but only on a second or third glance. They were just leather boots, after all; the designs embossed and studded into the surface didn't stand out in sharp relief, and they could be regarded as exactly what they were: a cultural affectation.

Masum trailed a finger in the water and watched the ripples, the tiny waves spreading out from his contact with the water. Almost invisibly small, midges flitted around the surface of the water. A few of their corpses floated on the surface, motionless enough to make out their little black legs splay out in unnatural directions, subject to the flow of the water.

The surface of the water twitched, and one of the dead midges disappeared.

"D'you think they'd accept my help, if I offered?" Masum said to the water.

They do not trust you, nothing whispered in his ear.

Would suspect treachery, nothing else hissed.

"Certainly I wouldn't identify myself."

One of the meat-animals saw us.

...Meat. Another midge vanished from the surface of the fountain.

The meat heard us.

Could not touch her.

She was not really there.

Was not really anywhere.

She escaped.

"You said my name," Masum said. It wasn't a question.

Another midge disappeared.

...Yes.

"Very well. I can work with this. Knowing I'm here doesn't equate to knowing my face. Neither of them have ever seen me. And the mage is Circle-educated—supremely skilled at operating within their little box, but I can move in ways he can't even conceptualize. He will not discover me by my magic. But perhaps it would be best to avoid contacting them directly. They're bound to be suspicious now. Still, there are ways I can ensure they find what they're looking for."

Why help the meat?

Masum drew his finger out of the water and flicked a few droplets into the air, then wiped his hand on the front of his shirt. He stood up and straightened his collar, checked that his shirt was neatly tucked.

"Because they want to bring Cantis back from the dead, and I want to kill him. Our goals coincide beautifully."

As he walked toward the Market Hall, the water in the fountain splashed as if something heavy had landed in it. All of the insects were gone. A faint smell of anise lingered for a long time.

edited 29th Jan '15 9:28:26 AM by SolipSchism

[Cloud Gate Hotel Lobby]

People looking around in the hotel lobby at this point might observe a pair of gluvpaki - dromaeosaurid-like reptilian aliens with reddish-orange scales and triangular snouts - making their way through the entrance. These particular gluvpaki wore flowing red and gold clothing and were carrying a large, sleek silver container somewhat resembling a torpedo. Without much effort, they navigated through the breakfasting crowd and made their way to the elevators. One used its free hand to press in a destination - the ninth floor - and they soon disappeared into an elevator, along with their cargo.

These gluvpaki are not actual characters, although others can take note of and comment on their presence. This is just a bit of setup for later.

Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby (Nioba, Lihiri, Adrien)

"Aye, we slept well enough," Nioba replied. "This world has much nicer mattresses than ours. You managed to find a room, I hope?"

Meanwhile, Lihiri watched the reddish-orange lizard... things in robes that moved through the hotel lobby. "What are those?" she asked, pointing them out to her companions.

"I've no idea," Nioba said.

Room -217 (Dimi, Nazerno)

Dimi awoke, slid off of his cot, and headed to the shower. His master was still asleep - the old degenerate had discovered the hotel's extensive collection of pay-per-view pornographic films and had spent the night perusing them, all while drinking himself into a stupor. At this point, the only reason Dimi hoped that the old bastard woke up was because otherwise he might get stuck paying off the hotel bill.

He washed his skin and hair very thoroughly. It was almost impossible to stay clean back in Woodshadow - the city was in the middle of a festering swamp, and municipal sanitation was very low on its government's priorities - so he figured he might as well take advantage of this opportunity. He paid special attention to the protuberance between his legs; it might be completely useless to him, but he would hate to have it fall off from some infection.

After he'd rinsed off the soap and shampoo, he considered his situation. He was almost certain that the green women they'd met last night would probably not help them, and would probably betray them. Nazerno could be dangerous in a fight - Dimi had ended up his slave after being sent to kill him, only to nearly get killed himself - but he was past his prime, and today, he'd probably be hung over. By the time he'd realized that he'd been deceived, he'd be dead.

Of course, Dimi realized that there was no assurance that the woman would spare him, but she would not find him an easy target. There was also the Vyzobian to consider; Azikath propaganda liked to promote the idea of Vyzobians as dumb brutes, but it would be the height of stupidity to underestimate people who could wield a greatsword with one hand.

Of course, the other variable weighed on his mind. Jidra. He probably should have anticipated that the Foreign Projects office would have sent someone, but Jidra was a gods-damned nightmare. And after last night, he now knew that she could track his movements and get inside his head. Every Furor secretly fears that their Master might be able to read their minds, but to actually experience something like that...

Dimi shuddered. He turned off the shower, dried himself off, and dressed himself in a grey and black tracksuit. Deciding that he was probably safer in a crowd than holed up inside the hotel room, he headed out and got in the elevator for the lobby.

[Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby]

Adrien nodded again. "That I did, but unfortunately I can't say the same." He stifled a yawn. "It shouldn't be a problem though. I've gotten by on less sleep before."

He then spared a quick glance in the direction of the two Gluvpaki and their odd cargo before looking back. "In any case, I don't suppose the two of you would care to join me for breakfast? I have some ideas I'd like to go over and I haven't yet eaten."

[Courtyard —> Market Hall (Youkai Showcase)] (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela)

Suela, after noting the strange man who talked to the water (but pointedly leaving him alone), made her way more or less at random through the fair before arriving at the Youkai Showcase. There were odd bits of familiarity here and there — the swords looked vaguely Elasane, there were what appeared to be woodblock prints, albeit different in style from her own culture's, and they seemed to have discovered silk, though the clothing style was similarly alien to her.

That reminded her; her breasts had attracted a number of stares, and between this and simple observation of other women's fashion, she'd come to the conclusion that her current outfit violated a local nudity taboo. It didn't bother her, per se, but she saw no reason to be insensitive. So she gave Mahiro a nod and said, "how much for," she pointed at a particularly expensive, dark kimono, "that robe?" They were loose enough to hopefully fit over her skirt comfortably, and the quality and style seemed appropriate for a woman of her status. She had no desire to be mistaken for a vagrant, after all.

How exactly she would pay for it was a question she mused about. Most of the money she carried was in Yoth banknotes, which were accepted across her native continent. She simply wouldn't be able to carry a similar amount of metal coinage without assistance. But given the distance, she'd brought a mixture of city-state coins as well; precious metals if nothing else. And worse case scenario, none of her jewelery had any sentimental value. She'd willingly barter it.

She noted Nagako as well. Strange; usually only rural women worked as shopkeepers, but Nagako and Mahiro seemed to be of a higher class. She didn't make any assumptions yet, though, still just curious to see how the girl and her father interacted.

[Wireless Chatter (Text, Encrypted with Serpent, 256-bit key, translated from Latinized Liturgical Maurosian)]

<What do you make of the orange raptors?>

<We don't have anyone in the hotel, Pale One's moved out, so not our problem. Keep an eye on 9th floor, though.>

<Acknowledged.>

edited 29th Jan '15 6:53:18 AM by KillerClowns

[Market Hall—Youkai Showcase (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela, Masum)]

Edited my last post to retcon Masum into the Market Hall instead of the Entertainment Hall. Since no one was interacting with him, hope that's okay.

Masum moved through the Fair almost invisibly, drifting between tourists and shoppers as though the crowd were only so much smoke. When he approached the Youkai Showcase from the side, several shoppers moved out of his way of their own accord, without even looking at him. He stepped through the open space and ducked under the awning.

His eyes briefly slid over Suela, but lingered no longer than they might on, say, an unfamiliar word in a novel. His lips might have twitched in a perfunctory smile as acknowledgment or greeting, but it was gone as soon as it appeared.

He turned to the shelves and peered at the merchandise. Almost immediately, he fixated on the swords, kneeling to get a closer look. His eyes narrowed as if trying to puzzle something out. Then he inhaled, eyes closed. "Yes," he murmured almost imperceptibly.

He looked up at Nagako. It might have been because the other customer was addressing Mahiro and he didn't want to interrupt, but something in his posture made that seem unlikely. No, he wanted to speak to Nagako in particular.

"Is this all you're selling?" he asked mildly. "I thought I sensed... smelled... something living. Spiders? No. Insects of some sort, surely."

edited 29th Jan '15 9:48:25 AM by SolipSchism

Market Hall (Youkai Showcase) (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela, Masum)

The Youkai Showcase did not need to wait long before the first customers arrived.

Mahiro greeted the first newcomer with a big grin, but didn't appear to have any reaction to her otherwise. A customer was a customer as far as he was concerned; if they wanted to run around half naked then that was their concern, not his.

"Welcome, welcome," he said to her, before turning to see just what she was interested in. "This kimono here? I would price it...somewhere between six thousand and eight thousand yen, or the rough equivalent, yes yes."

Nagako didn't speak to the newcomer herself; if her father needed her to do so then she would. That didn't stop her from glancing at and watching the business taken place. She did question the customer's fashion sense; there was the obvious lack of upper garments, and then there was the shaved head. She knew better than to actually say anything about it, especially when the other person clearly wasn't from her own culture.

She would have been content to simply watch and listen, had not someone else approached her part of the stall and actually spoke to her directly. She wasn't quite sure what to think of this man. He looked ordinary enough, or at least was comparable to most people she had seen yesterday, but there was something...off about the way he was acting.

"Technically, I'm not selling anything. I'm just helping Father," she responded, "Though yesterday, I was selling beetles, so that's probably what you're picking up." She frowned. "Though it is a little strange that you're smelling them. I don't think beetles are so stinky that their smell hangs around forever."

[Market Hall—Youkai Showcase (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela, Masum)]

Masum smiled, straightening up. "Stink, no, I wouldn't say that. I don't believe in things like 'stink', really—one smell is just like another, when it comes right down to it. I'm sensitive to such things, that's all. I have a friend that's fond of insects, and the scent caught my attention. I don't suppose there's a chance you'd still be offering any of them?" He smiled again, inclining his head slightly in what could only be a gesture of deference. "To a good home, of course."

Market Hall (Youkai Showcase) (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela, Masum)

...or the rough equivalent. Suela wasn't sure how much a "yen" was worth, but the price in Imperials was more than fair. She pulled out thirteen five-hundred-Imperial notes and offered them to Mahiro. 6,500 Imperials total, a little over the suggested minimum if a one-to-one ratio was accepted.

The notes were two-sided. On one side was printed an intricate woodcut of a flower, their denomination, and a message — conveniently translated by the fair's magic — stating that the notes were legal tender across the Yoth Empire, as acceptable for all transactions as any gold, silver, or other metal, and backed by the authority of the Cloud Emperor, Chosen of the Spirits. The other side consisted half of a printing of a mountain landscape and the denomination repeated, and half a message informing the reader that penalties for counterfeiting Yoth Imperials ranged from indentured servitude to death. A number of intricate stamps on both sides served as a final certification of authenticity.

"Will this," she said, "cover the purchase?" She was willing to, and fully expected, Mahiro to go higher (if he accepted the Imperials at all), but saw no reason to insult him by offering the exact minimum he'd suggested. "My husband would be quite displeased if he found out I spent too much of our money on foreign clothing, you understand," she smiled slightly wryly and offered a vaguely apologetic half-bow, "but I know good silk when I see it, and the price is not too far above what I'd expect to pay for something equivalent in my homeland."

She gave a sidelong glance to Masum. If I had to choose between trusting that one and a priest of the dead gods... I'd have to think about that one. Though for all I know, he may well be one.

edited 29th Jan '15 8:16:04 PM by KillerClowns

Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby (Nioba, Lihiri, Adrien)

"Certainly," Nioba said. "Let's see what they have, shall we?"

The three of them perused the buffet tables. Lihiri's eyes lit upon one of the offerings.

"Look! It's French toast!" she exclaimed.

"What in the nine hells is French toast?" Nioba asked. "I mean, obviously, there is toasted bread involved, but what does 'French' mean?"

"I don't actually know," Lihiri said. She piled four triangle-cut slices onto her plate and then poured a good helping of syrup on them.

Nioba shrugged, took two slices for her own plate and drizzled a bit of syrup.

She and Lihiri went to find a table, leaving Adrien to decide what he would have.

[Showcase Hall]

In the midst of the growing crowds this morning, a young woman existed. Those with particularly astute senses would probably notice that one moment she simply appeared, in the middle of the crowd, and conveniently where no-one was walking at the moment.

She stood there, a blank look on her face, as the others walked around her, obviously with more of a destination in mind. She looked vaguely Japanese, probably in her 20's, standing 1.6m/5'3" tall and with an average build. She also had apparently-natural blue hair in a pixie cut and matching blue eyes. She was wearing what looked like a form-fitting spandex space-suit and boots, without any helmet, colored in light gray and blue, with only the letters GI in front, in place of a nametag.

Staring into the crowd, she merely thought, where is this place?

Those with supernatural or otherwise unusual senses might also notice that she seemed to be slightly unreal, as if she wasn't fully materialized, and might decide to spontaneously stop existing again.

I'll have her go somewhere specific soon, unless someone wants to specifically bump into her. :)

Market Hall (Youkai Showcase) (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela, Masum)

The excuse of "having a friend fond of insects" was the exact same one Adelphos used, and Nagako knew very well what sort of person he apparently was. It was enough to make her rather suspicious of this man. At least this time the beetles weren't actually here, let alone on display, so she wouldn't be losing any to whatever he really had planned for them.

"Unfortunately, not today," she replied, shaking her head, "I don't even have them on me at the moment, so getting them would be something of a hassle." She made a small, apologetic bow. "I'm sorry. If there's anything else you might be interested in, though, you should probably ask Father. He knows more about them than I do."

Mahiro took the notes and examined them. This definitely wasn't yen, but he knew currency when he saw it. As long as this money could be converted into yen upon leaving the fair he would accept it. If for whatever reason he couldn't, there was a chance he might have been able to sell it back at the Capital anyway; it was certainly pretty enough to warrant it.

"This will work quite nicely, yes yes," he said, before stashing it away and going to fetch the kimono that the customer desired. He took it down and carefully folded it up before handing it to her. "And here is your purchase. Thank you, and I hope you have a pleasant day."

[Market Hall—Youkai Showcase (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela, Masum)]

Masum kept his expression carefully neutral while the girl—ah, his first mistake; he hadn't introduced himself or asked her name—explained that the beetles were unavailable. Perhaps she'd have been willing to retrieve them if he hadn't offended her, but obviously he'd said something wrong. Cagey distrust positively radiated off the girl.

Your 'friend'.

Yes, her posture had shifted when he'd mentioned his 'friend'. A lazy lie. He should have tried harder on that one. Still, he couldn't very well have told her the truth: That his friend—three friends, actually—needed living bodies (preferably sentient and freely offered, but that wasn't likely to happen; animals or insects would do almost as well) if they were to do anything in this world beyond acting as observers. And in his complacency, Masum had botched an opportunity to provide those bodies. If he'd been back home, and she were a Saavik peddler—or, hell, a Rashaean merchant—he could simply have burned her alive and taken what he needed from her still-warm brain. But that was not an option here, for too many reasons to count.

For only a second, childhood memories surfaced, and the demons stirred. For a moment, his thoughts were a jumble of hunger and self-loathing and childish glee. Then he squashed it with the only thing that had ever worked: Quiet, patient hatred. The demons settled down, but he could physically feel one of them brushing against his cheek. They couldn't interact directly with this world, but somehow, that seemed to make Masum himself more vulnerable to them. He would have to remember that: A moment of inattention here and he might find himself a puppet.

The second passed; his expression had never changed.

"I do apologize if I've overstepped," he said with the same earnest smile. He realized his inscrutable calm might actually be working to his detriment here. Well, that was easily addressed. He reached deep and dragged some of his childhood self-doubt up, slipped it on like an old jacket. "Please don't go to any trouble on my account, but, um, I really would like to look at some pets, animals, that sort of thing. Is there anyone here you know of who has that kind of shop? Or could I maybe come back later, if you'll be putting them on display again?"

edited 30th Jan '15 8:35:28 AM by SolipSchism

[Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby]

Adrien picked through the platters arrayed across the buffet table. He lifted a few bread rolls onto his plate, already piled high with sausages and poached eggs, and went to join Nioba and Lihiri.

He began to eat with apparent enthusiasm. "You know," he managed, through a mouthful, "this food isn't so different from home. The eggs are smaller, but the rest..." Adrien trailed off as he continued to eat.

He swallowed.

"So," He pointed with a fork. "-do we have ideas for how to find this person? I have some ideas, but I want to hear what the two of you have come up with first."

Market Hall (Youkai Showcase) (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela, Masum)

The concept of a merchant not haggling — barring significant extenuating circumstances — was completely alien to Suela. She took the kimono quickly, before Mahiro changed his mind, trying to hide just how completely suspicious the speed with which the transaction had been completed made her. He'd just accepted her price like that? After carefully studying the kimono, and seeing no flaw that would justify an eagerness to be rid of it, she idly mused that perhaps Mahiro wanted to keep an eye on the other newcomer. So she quietly threw the kimono on over herself.

That done, she decided to see if one of her suspicions about the strange man was true. She pulled out her journal, and said, to Masum, "if I may interrupt, a moment of your time? You strike me as a fellow-scholar of the esoteric, and I'm curious if you're familiar with this iconography." She opened the journal then, to a page of with a charcoal rubbing of some sort of bas-relief depicting... something. Too many eyes. Too many teeth. She doubted she'd get an honest answer, but the reactions might be telling.

edited 30th Jan '15 5:21:30 PM by KillerClowns

Market Hall (Youkai Showcase) (Mahiro, Nagako, Suela, Masum)

Despite himself, Mahiro couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the woman's behavior upon completing her purchase. He hadn't done anything different from his usual routine, apart from not giving a specific price to the kimono, and somehow he got the impression that the woman found it quite strange. Was the idea of an honest merchant alien to her or something?

No matter. If the fact that she put the kimono on almost immediately after buying it was any indication she seemed content enough with it, and as far as he was concerned it was a success in his book.

Nagako was silent for a moment, trying to remember all the stalls she looked at yesterday. In the end, however, she shook her head sadly. "I haven't done much wandering around, and from what little I've seen I don't remember seeing a stall featuring live animals anywhere. And unfortunately I'm most likely not going to be putting the beetles back up today, or possibly for the remainder of our time here."

She shrugged. "Sorry that I couldn't be of more help to you. Though I am going to be looking around some more today. Maybe if I find something I could tell you?"

At that point the stall's other customer approached the man and started conversing with him, which Nagako took as a cue to bow out. Before she did, however, she caught a glimpse of the drawing in the woman's book. She couldn't see very much of it from her position, but she couldn't come up with an adequate word to describe the...thing it apparently depicted, apart from maybe "revolting." What was it even supposed to be?

She was about to lean over to get a better look before thinking otherwise and just staying back. She didn't want to be rude and interrupt the conversation. If the woman was showing it off, she'd likely get to know more about it if she just listened for a bit...possibly more than she would have ever wanted to know about something like that.

Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby (Nioba, Lihiri, Adrien)

"I actually had an idea," Lihiri responded. "Pathogenic profiling!" She beamed proudly.

"I think you're going to have to explain that to him, love," Nioba said.

Lihiri looked sheepish. "Oh. Right. Everyone has hundreds of little pathogens in their bodies. My abilities enable me to detect those pathogens and discern between them. On our world, it's possible to determine where people come from based on the combination of pathogens in their body. It stands to reason that I could do the same for people from other worlds. We know that the missing terrorist is from the same world as Nore and Solin, so all we have to do is look for people who have a similar pathogen profile. And then we can question them!"

Nioba patted Lihiri's head. "That's my girl."

[Entertainment Hall - Ship of Marvels]

Without making any noise that would disturb the city beyond, a small spaceship - that is, small for a spaceship, which made it nearly three-quarters the length of the entire hall - had landed at the edge of the Entertainment Hall during the previous night, where it had apparently been registered as a "stall". Structurally, it consisted of two horizontal hemispheres joined together, giving it a faintly chelonian appearance. It was painted a sea-green color, with garish red writing in an alien script strewn over the larger hemisphere, while a smaller line of purple writing was on the side of the smaller hemisphere.

The ship had sat motionless since that time, but now, a circular hatch on the side of the small hemisphere slid open noiselessly and two flying disks emerged. Emitting a soft hum as they flew, the disks were painted a similar shade of green to the ship - though their paint coating was noticeably more worn - with a grey ring around their midsection. Six small blue lights were set at equidistant points around the ring. They flew using circular, faintly glowing thrusters.

One of the disks hovered in place beside the ship. The other began to dart back and forth alongside the edge of the crowd's flow, speaking to them in an androgynous, annoyingly cheerful voice. "Greetings, intrepid goods-seeking sophonts, and consider yourselves fortunate today! You now enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime possibility of visiting Madame voSudir's Ship of Marvels for absolutely free! This paragon of entertainment, famed across two thousand systems, is home to some of the rarest and most unique wonders of the galaxy, located here alone! Don't pass up on this opportunity, innovative sophonts - visit Madame voSudir's Ship of Marvels today, and let your astonishment be astonished!

As the disk delivered its spiel, the red writing on the ship began to flicker between many different languages, each displaying some variant of the words Madame voSudir's Ship of Marvels.

The sun rose higher into the skies, until it was above all but the tallest buildings. Bright rays of sunlight shone upon the fair - and into the windows of the Cloud Gate hotel where some people were still sleeping.

Current Time: Mid-Morning

[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent]

Staring into the crowds, the mystery woman started moving, walking around and alongside the others, with no particular destination in mind.

I should find out where I am, she thought, and what happened, I... don't remember.

She looked at a variety of stalls along her aimless walk before stopping in front of the Western Amalgamated Tent.

This place looks rather official, she thought, and I am feeling somewhat hungry.

She walked up to the ticket dispenser, and read the sign. Taking three tickets, she thought, this seems quite generous - are the portions very small?

She stepped inside the tent, and said, "is this where I redeem the tickets?" Pausing for a moment, she said, "sorry, but could you also tell me where this place is?"

Do mention if anyone scans her or has other supernatural senses, there's quite a bit odd about her besides just her slight unrealness.

[Entertainment Hall - Ship of Marvels]

Walking around the hall, Hvpvdqia saw the ship nearby, and listened to the disk's announcement. She looked identical to how she had yesterday, and was still tracking water on the floor with her steps.

"Ooo, this looks interesting," she said, walking closer to the entrance.

"Hi! I'm Hvpvdqia!" Hvpvdqia said to the disk hovering by the entrance, "is this the way to the astonishment?" She pointed to the circular hatch close by.

And also mention if anyone scans or otherwise looks at Hvpvdqia with supernatural senses, as she's quite strange as well. (Although in a completely different way from the mystery woman. :P)

edited 30th Jan '15 10:01:01 PM by Sonzai

[Entertainment Hall - Ship of Marvels]

The disk Hvpvdqia had spoken to did not react, but the speaking disk whirled and one of its lights flickered. "Apologies! That is simply the drone dispensary hatch! The proper entrance to the Ship of Marvels is opening now, discerning sophont!"

A larger, but otherwise identical hatch opened in the bigger hemisphere near the point where it connected to the smaller one. It was dimly lit and revealed only a little of what was inside, and that was soon obscured as a humanoid alien emerged. She bowed, so low and so quickly that it looked almost mechanical in nature (in the sense that it was machine-like, not that it looked rote).

Madame Krott voSudir looked remarkably like a human, apart from her mottled green skin and lack of any visible hair. There were a few other, more subtle differences as well - her fingers were longer, more curved, and six to a hand, while the joints on her arms and legs seemed to be located in slightly different places than they were on a human. Underneath the long, semi-transparent black veil she wore, it could be made out that her dark eyes were much larger than a human's as well, taking up much of the middle of her face. She wore long, frilly fingerless gloves - one colored dark blue and one a metallic purple - a silvery-grey vest over a rather mundane-looking white shirt, and black trousers with red, spidery embroidery on them. A number of bright beads or gems in several colors were attached to the sides of her vest, although there was nothing obviously holding them there. Her clothing fit loosely enough to blow slightly in the mid-morning breeze, and tightly enough to establish that (by average human standards) Krott voSudir was a very attractive woman, if a bit flat-chested.

She gestured with one arm into the ship. "The astonishment... awaits inside." Her voice was very hoarse.

Madame voSudir is an orl, the same species as Rey. She is mildly augmented (like essentially everyone in her time period) but has no special senses.

The disks, on the other hand, are a synthetic intelligence and therefore use scanners to "see".