In the center of a bustling city stands its crown jewels, a trio of grand, enormous pavilions. Within the facade of this old palace churns a city all its own, bodies chattering and exploring and roving about in search of the exotic and new and awe-inspiring. After all, no place could be better, for here, in the form of these stalls and displays for this fair, is where the worlds have chosen to convene. On the convention floor, they hawk their creeds, their products, their livelihoods, all competing for the attention of attendees as diverse as they are. But who is this 'they'? Why, anyone, from anywhere at all. From friendly small businesses to ominous corporations, from rebellions trying to gain ground to dying regimes attempting to rekindle their glory, from scientists and scholars to artists and storytellers. If an attendee can think of it, it could very well be here. Who knows what you'll find?
- Current Time: Noon/Early Afternoon (Day 2)
- Current Weather: Clear
Hello, Writer's Block, and welcome to the latest installment of the Character Development Threads! These shared story exercises give you the opportunity to develop your characters, practice writing, and have fun alongside your fellow writers, no signups, profiles, or GM approval necessary. Want to join? If the thread's gotten long, there's no need to fear Archive Panic- just head on over to our discussion thread
and say so, and we'll give you a recap of what's going on and good spots for working your characters into the thread; how you choose to do this is up to you. A little communication in endeavors such as these can go a long way towards having fun, helping others, getting that kink in your character worked out, getting your characters out of their comfort zone, or whatever you're here for, so if you ever have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask. We're all for helping each other out.
This thread's designated trope page is here, and its map is here
◊. Don't forget to add your contributions to the page!
In this thread, as the introduction and name suggests, your characters will be coming to a convention, a gathering open to the various and sundry worlds of our stories, whether as attendees hoping to see something cool... or as parts of the exhibition themselves. Yes, you, the writer, will be shaping not just the cast and plots, but the setting as well in the form of stalls and exhibits. Note that this necessitates that we keep a few small things in mind to keep things running smoothly.
- Our standards of location for this thread are intentionally vague to allow ourselves the freedom to make up stalls on the fly as our plots demand, as well as to account for the fact that wandering around between stalls and chatting with your friends is as much a part of the convention experience as the stalls themselves. For the sake of keeping track of people, in lieu of standard location tags in the vein of [Market Hall], we recommend that you also append the names of the characters you're with.
- Though you're welcome to bring a piece of home in the form of a stall and control the characters running it, you're also welcome to bring a stall that exists solely as a plot device without ever mentioning it again. The basic rules to keep in mind are to write a stall as long as it takes to fulfill its raison d'être, whether that's to develop a faction or similar in your work or to keep the plot moving along, and that stalls can be anything. More specific info can be found on the trope page linked above.
- If you find yourself unexpectedly busy in other endeavors after entering the thread, there are easy ways to back out, whether you're writing for attendees or stalls. Attendees can step out into the covered walkways connecting the convention buildings or the adjacent courtyard for some fresh air and relief from the constant noise of the crowds, while stalls can suddenly become flooded with enough nameless background characters to render the stall too busy to reply to any troper characters that were interacting with it at the time.
With all that out of the way, we cordially invite you to stay and experience the Character Worlds' Fair! Onwards!
(Credit for this post and much of the work on the thread belongs to Crystal Glacia).
Fair has now concluded.
edited 31st Mar '15 2:06:36 AM by nrjxll
[Market Hall]
Masum allowed himself a start when he saw the little—fairy, maybe? No, the demons sensed nothing from it, so it couldn't be a living thing... well, apparently, anyway. Who knew what kind of life might exist here? Best to adopt the expressions and mannerisms of good-natured ignorance, surprised by much, intimidated by little.
So he leaned forward as it spoke, squinting to get a good look at the object, tilting his head one way and then the other to view it from several angles. The strange thing was, he hadn't the slightest idea how it was flying or speaking. It wasn't magic—not the magic he knew, anyway—but the green glow couldn't be natural. Could it?
He straightened a second after it finished talking, quickly, as if it had taken him a moment to realize that the thing expected a response.
"I'm not really here looking to make a profit," he began, then hesitated, seemed to think better of his words. "But I suppose it couldn't hurt."
He squinted at the thing again.
"Are you, ah... a guide or messenger of some kind? Or"—the thought had just occurred to him—"are you somewhere else, speaking through this, um, device? You'll have to forgive my ignorance, there's much here at the Fair that is very new to me. I'm afraid my world is something of a backwood compared to this place."
[Entertainment Hall—Shay and Somlan]
Somlan did his best to buck up and pay attention to his surroundings. As lethargic as he was feeling today, he had a mission, and now that the mage from the Steppes was in the mix, he knew his life could very well be in danger. The preservation of his own skin wasn't his only motivation, either.
"Good grief," he muttered when he saw the crowds today. "They're up early. Miss Shay, why don't you pick a stall? I'll keep my eyes and ears and not-quite-natural senses on the lookout for our unpleasant friend." He didn't bother adding that he was not at all confident that he'd be able to detect Aeron if he saw the man, who could almost certainly hide himself from Somlan; or that even if he did detect Aeron, the mage could probably wipe the floor with him.
No, this was not a good day for Somlan's self-esteem. He sniffed a bit and lifted his chin, casting his extra senses around. He didn't find anything, of course.
[Market Hall - Tevarian's Booth]
Ghiln blinked and tipped her head sideways, regarding Tevarian with confusion equal to that she'd heard - or thought she'd heard, at least - in his voice. "Do you - are you not familiar with that?" she asked. "I was under the impression that it was fairly well-known. Information technology is, well, it's technology focusing specifically on the use of information. Communications. Data storage. Simulation technology. Some kinds of implants like backups and data overlays."
She tipped her head back the other way. "I suppose I can understand if our definitions of what is 'current' are different, but I'm surprised you haven't heard the term at all. At least in my reality, humans are one species to use it, and I thought you mentioned yours has them?" She'd be surprised if it didn't, given how the Gate system worked, but she'd been surprised a few times already during this conversation. Which was nice, in its way.
[Market Hall - General]
"Oh, yes," the voice from the hovering object said, "I can understand the confusion. The object you see before you is a communications drone - a small device designed to allow me to communicate with you from a distance. I prefer not to go around meeting potential business contacts until after I know that they're already interested."
The light coming from the drone flickered slightly, and it dropped for a moment before the glow reasserted itself and the drone resumed its previous height. "If you're interested in further contact with our organization, follow the drone, and it will lead you to our meeting point."
[Entertainment Hall - Ship of Marvels]
Madame voSudir smiled in satisfaction as she stowed both checks safely inside her vest. She'd take care of adding the second one to her account later this day.
"That visit seems to have proceeded considerably more satisfactorily than the last!" the Hazzer drone chirped, hovering in place.
"Indeed it did, my friend," voSudir said. She fixed the drone with one dark eye from behind her veil. "Though truly, Haz, you need to dial it back with the 'I'm only a SI, not an AI' comments. One of these times someone is going to actually notice it, and one of those times zey're actually going to take concern."
"I will keep that in mind, madame!"
The Ship of Marvels remains open to other guests.
[Market Hall]
Masum nodded. "That's prudent of you. Please, lead on."
Caution, caution, one of the demons whispered, but he couldn't tell if it was just miming his own thoughts or actually talking to him. His mind often felt like an echo chamber, with so many inhabitants that it became difficult to sort his thoughts from theirs. Still, it was good advice, even if it was his own. He couldn't afford to let his guard down; he should ferret out this enigmatic person's motives and goals before making any decisions about how to interact in the long-term.
He followed the drone through the crowd.
Entertainment Hall- With Somlan
Shay's eyes widened with wonder when the two had entered the Entertainment Hall. It was huge and very crowded even for as early as it was in the day. She looked back to Somlan when he asked to check out some stalls nearby and she nodded. "Will do!" she replied and ran off looking for the most interesting stall she could find. Or at least one that exhibited lots of magic of some kind. "Let's see here, necromancy, necromancy... Would someone even show off that kind of power around here?" she mused to herself out loud. She searched around, getting distracted now and then by interesting stalls, her sandy cat tail wagging slowly back and forth. The cat girl then stopped in front of a place labeled Ship of Marvels. "Huh, wonder what's in there?" she wondered and stepped towards it.
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"[Market Hall -> Showcase Hall - Side Building]
The drone led Masum on a winding path through the fair's grounds until it eventually came to a small building at the side of the Showcase Hall, which appeared to have been intended for use as a storage unit. A small reptilian biped
vaguely resembling a raptor-type dinosaur was leaning sideways against the wall of the building, staring down at a triangular metal device it held in one of its hands. A pair of large humans in shabby clothes stood nearby, keeping a wary eye on passerby - though there were not many given the building's out-of-the-way location.
As Masum and the drone arrived, the reptile looked up from its pad. "Ah, good to see you've come, zer," it said in the same high-pitched male voice as the drone had emitted. He nodded. "Cy-Par Gerrune. Shall we get to business, or are there any questions you wanted to ask first?" He indicated the drone as if to suggest that Masum might still want to know more about it.
[Entertainment Hall - Ship of Marvels]
As Shay approached the ship, one of the green flying disks near it
descended towards her. "Greetings, intrepid sophont!" it chirped. "Unfortunately, the Ship of Marvels is not currently open for business, as the result of adjustments being made in accordance with the feedback of our recent guests! Please do come back shortly if you wish to experience a phenomenal series of intriguing fascinations!"
Sorry about reversing what I just said, but I think I need to slightly cut down on my number of characters in Fair so I can have more time for Capital when it launches tomorrow. The Ship of Marvels will reopen once I can pull out Ghiln, which should happen shortly.
[Showcase Hall - Side Building]
Masum made sure to look properly surprised to hear the lizard's voice—as well as to see an intelligent, bipedal, talking lizard. In truth, he'd seen things much stranger, but of course, here he was Masum the rube, not Aeron the sorcerer.
"Oh, no need," he said pleasantly. "I think I understand this device's function. How it works is beyond me, but then I'm not very technologically-minded. I don't want to waste your time by asking you to explain something that's probably very basic to you. My name is Masum," he added in response to the lizard's introduction. "Masum Mochnem."
[Showcase Hall - Side Building]
Gerrune tapped several times on the triangular object he was holding; his tail swished from underneath his clothes. "A pleasure to meet you, Mister Mochnem. Since you don't have any further questions, I suppose we should get right to work.
"I'm currently employed as the representative of an individual who prefers to be known simply as the Fat Man. The Fat Man has numerous and diversified interests, but his primary business is information. A place such as this fair, full of strange and continuous activity of all sorts, is particularly well-suited to the needs of our organization. As always, though, there's room for additional help. Other members of my organization have been observing you since your arrival, and based on their feedback I believe you might be precisely the sort of person we want for our operations here."
He paused. "Does this sound worthwhile to you so far, Mister Mochnem? We're both busy beings, I'm sure, so I wouldn't want to take up too much time if you're not interested."
[Showcase Hall—Side Building]
The demons were hissing. He quelled them, but the effort was distracted. Part of him knew exactly what they were complaining about: This man, or his mysterious "Fat Man", clearly knew that Masum was not what he seemed.
Don't be too guarded, he thought. Don't be too careful. A lack of recklessness born of ignorance, an overabundance of cagey caution, might be just as telling as if you explained your true nature upfront. Be flattered by the attention and appraisal, but confused by his apparent assumption that you know how to gather information. Be curious about the nature of this information, and of the work offered. And be slightly intimidated by his obviously shady intent—even a rube could pick up on that.
He tilted his head and furrowed his brow. "Information? You mean, like... a spy, or informant? Honestly, sir, you have my curiosity, but I'm not sure how helpful I can be. I'm new here myself, and I haven't anything as useful as the technology you yourself used to contact me. But what is it, exactly, that you'd like me to do? It isn't dangerous, is it?"
[Entertainment Hall—Near the Ship of Marvels]
Somlan gave a little snort.
"Marvelous technology," he said, "that exists to tell you to take off. Cute. Well, I suppose we can't expect every booth to be open all the time. Shall we wait, or take a look around elsewhere?"
Sorry I'm not being particularly active with Somlan—if you don't mind, I'm just going to follow Shay around for now. I'll be sure to keep him active, though.
edited 24th Feb '15 7:52:51 PM by SolipSchism
Market Hall - Vardalgari Exports (Sotto, Kel, Brosk)
Sotto had felt a momentary panic go through him when the hulking, three-legged... thing showed up at his stall. But then the thing had said that it wished to purchase something, and he relaxed.
Brosk hurried to his side. "You want me to handle this, boss?" he growled. The more observant might have noticed the man's upper torso swelling slightly and thickets of coarse black hair sprouting along his arms.
Sotto raised a hand. "No need for that, my good man." He offered up his most winsome smile to the guest. "Of course, friend. What can we fetch for you?"
Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby (Nioba, Lihiri, Rey, Adrien)
Nioba found herself wishing that they'd spent more time exploring yesterday. But then she spotted a flyer on an abandoned nearby table. She picked it up and looked at it.
"Well, here's something. It says that there was supposed to be a concert by the Gongoozlers of Gaarthalak this afternoon in the Entertainment Hall, but it's been cancelled. I have no idea what 'Gongoozlers of Gaarthalak' are, but look at this stage." She showed the others the accompanying photo of a makeshift but reasonably sturdy concert shell. The style of the shell suggested that it had been constructed by laborers from wherever the hell Gaarthalak was. "Would this provide enough cover for our plans?"
Cloud Gate Hotel - Room -217 (Dimi, Nazerno)
Dimi fought back his irritation as he helped Nazerno into an old burgundy leisure suit with an ecru shirt and brown shoes. I suppose it's the least I can do, given that I'm sending the bastard to his death...
"They say where we're meetin' them?" Nazerno asked.
"Not yet, Master, but I imagine we shall hear from them soon..."
By now, it should be clear to all except the most dense of us that sheep are secretly conspiring to kill us all and steal our pants.[Showcase Hall - Side Building]
Gerrune shuffled his feet. "Mister Mochnem, please. You're making this out to be much more dramatic than it is - it's really just a simple business proposition. All you have to do is keep your senses alert while you're wandering the fair for anything that my employer might consider interesting. Then, on a schedule tailored to fit your personal time management needs, you'll meet with me or one of my fellow representatives to provide us with that information."
He gave Masum a skeptical look. "And while we're certainly always appreciative of a realistic self-assessment of one's strengths and weaknesses, don't sell yourself short. As valuable a tool as technology is, places such as this make it clear that there are other, often equally valuable forces in the multiverse." He placed one clawed hand under his jaw. "While the Fat Man of course maintains an equal-opportunity policy towards all belief systems, as a being of faith myself, I can hardly doubt the value of the supernatural."
[Market Hall - Vardalgari Exports]
Kel noted the odd changes that seemed to be occurring with the large enforcer with some concern. He'd never seen anything remotely like it before, and he wasn't certain what it would mean if the situation turned violent. Probably nothing too serious - he's still just unarmored and effectively unarmed compared to me - but I'm not exactly an expert on all this.
Hopefully, though, he'd manage to avoid it coming to that. He nodded pleasantly. "I'd like to... that is, my organization would like to purchase an item from here. I believe it's called a 'Disinfuriator'." As he said the strange-sounding word, he glanced around the stall, trying to see if he could see an item that matched the description Rey had given him. Just in case...
Waiting on Gault for the hotel.
[Market Hall - Tevarian's Booth]
Tevarian looked at Ghiln with more than a bit of confusion, not that one could really see any change through the environment suit. A close analogy for how he was feeling was as if he was a car salesman, and a person had just walked up to him on the showroom floor, and asked for 'his finest internal-combustion technology.' Or someone asking for an 'advanced integrated circuit' device in a modern computer and portable-device store.
"Ah... well..." he said, clearly unsure of what to say next. Maybe I'll just guess with some random gadgets I haven't been able to sell, and see if she likes any of them? he thought.
"I do have this data overlay visor," Tevarian said, reaching down underneath the table with one of his arms, and picking up a dusty pair of what looked like futuristic glasses. He dusted them off underneath the table, then placed them on top for Ghiln to see. "They provide visual analysis, data overlay, and viewing in a large range of the electromagnetic spectrum," he said, "it's not really the latest model, but they are rather popular for the fashion-conscious, and those who prefer not to have such devices integrated. Feel free to try it out."
Rummaging around another box, he pulled out a rectangular device, about the size of a large smartphone, and placed it on the table, near the edge as well. It was shiny and metallic, and didn't seem to have any obvious controls. "I do also have this Personal Holographic Assistant," he said, tapping the top of the device. Suddenly, a blue light lit up on its edge, and a Hard Light human woman appeared next to the table. She was about 1.5m/5' tall, and looked rather average, wearing a business outfit, with notably undefinable ethnicity.
She took a small bow at Ghiln, and said, "Hi! What can I help you with today?"
Note that she's surprisingly solid for a hologram, as she can be touched and pick up most small or light objects, but anything as strong as a punch or more would certainly go right through her. She's also not an AI, although does a good job of faking it. :P
Waiting for KC for Iono and Mev.
edited 25th Feb '15 12:08:12 AM by Sonzai
Entertainment Hall- With Somlan
Shay stared up at the Ship of Marvels when a little robot came down to greet her and tell her the ship was closed for now. "Ah..I see.." she replied shrugging it off. She could always check it out later, provided she wasn't busy trying to catch Aeron. Her cat ears picked up Somlan's voice and she turned to him when he asked if they should check other places out. "Sure. I don't think I've seen everything yet though so far nobody is showing off necromancy skills." she answered, clasping her chin with her finger in thought. She really hoped Aeron wasn't somewhere else outside of Fair or the search was going to get even more complicated. "Maybe we should make wanted posters.." she thought out loud looking up to the sky.
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"[Entertainment Hall—Near the Ship of Marvels]
Somlan chuckled again. "Well, that would be a grand idea, if either of us knew what he looked like," he reminded her. "I suppose we could draw up posters reading, 'Wanted: Evil Despotic Mage,' but somehow I doubt he's telling people that's his job description."
[Showcase Hall—Side Building]
Masum laughed good-naturedly and nodded. Never in his life had he heard an honest man use the phrase 'simple business proposition'.
"Of course, of course," he said. "I'm sorry—I guess I let my imagination get the better of me."
But at Gerrune's mention of the supernatural, it took most of his self-control to keep from lashing out violently.
Deny any knowledge of the supernatural? Admit it, but not the scope? Decline to acknowledge it? No, that's as good as an admission. Caution. Caution. Caution.
Carefully, he frowned. "Supernatural?"
edited 25th Feb '15 8:27:11 AM by SolipSchism
[Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby]
Adrien took the flyer in hand and examined it. After a moment he nodded. "This should do suitably well. It's built up so there's bound to be plenty of cover and hiding spots, and the arena- that's the open area below the stage where the commoners stand- means we'll have a clear line-of-sight on anyone approaching."
Adrien handed the flier back and nodded again. "it's as good a vantage point as I think we have a right to expect, given we're doing this on such short notice." Then he paused, and a wry smile came upon his face. "Arena. It's a rather fitting name given we're planning an ambush."
He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. He nodded to Nioba, "I suppose it's just as well that you managed to find us a stage." Then, Adrien turned to look at the alien. "I'm looking forward to seeing just how good of an actor you are, Rey."
yey[Market Hall - Tevarian's Booth]
Ghiln sighed with slight depression. Apparently, whatever the point of confusion was between her and Tevarian - and she still couldn't really guess at what that was - she hadn't managed to resolve it.
Still, at least they could move along now. She looked at the glasses with some puzzlement of her own; these were for the fashion-conscious? Not that she had a particularly good idea what fashion was like in the first place, but the glasses looked more goofy than anything. And the other suggested reason for their use seemed even odder: "Um. Why would anyone not have that sort of thing integrated if they had a choice? The glasses could just be knocked off, or broken, or forgotten... any number of problems!"
She was about to speak further when she was interrupted by the activation of the hologram device, and let out a quiet "Oh!" of surprise, then craned her head forward to get a better look at it. Hmm. What is that, some sort of SI? It was again conceptually odd to see one as an external projection instead of an overlay, but she had been looking for "different". Perhaps I'll try interaction.
"Hello," she told it, dipping her upper body briefly. "My name is Ghiln. I'm not sure there's anything in particular I was looking for help with - what can you do in general?"
[Showcase Hall - Side Building]
Gerrune's jaw twitched slightly, and he shook his head and exhaled a long breath. "The supernatural: forces beyond those commonly understand by science. One commonly used terminology involves the word 'magic'. While in some places it's typically only a matter of faith, our organization has quite conclusively proven that the supernatural does exist within locations such as the one we are currently engaged in conversation within.
He fiddled with a fold of his clothing. "However, it's certainly possible that we were mistaken about you personally being acquainted with it. My employer's native reality has been quite conclusively proven to not have any explicitly supernatural phenomena itself, and the... assets we use to search for such have been proven to be unreliable in the past." He emitted a low growl, though his voice still sounded good-natured. "I would be very disappointed if that was the case, though, as it's one of the things that made an attractive prospect for a partnership. I've already had one wasted meeting today; another would be so tedious."
[Cloud Gate Hotel - Lobby]
Rey raised her eyeridge as Nioba produced the flyer. Well, that was certainly fragging convenient. But hey, best not to be cynical about good luck unless you have reason to think it's enemy action. And leaving a flyer lying around to set up a trap seemed a little improbable - not to mention smarter than Nazerno had given her the feeling of being.
"Yeah, sounds good," she said out loud, nodding first at Nioba and then at Adrien to make it clear that she was responding to both the suggested location and the details about it. She felt a grin creeping onto her face as the prospect of a fight became more and more real, though she couldn't help but raise her eyeridge again at Adrien's reference to "commoners". I get that their worlds are medieval, but still weird. And again closer to human than orl (at least from what she knew about humans' medieval times), for some reason.
She turned briefly, distracted by the sight of a long line of zzym' - large, multi-limbed, green insectoids - filing across the lobby and into an elevator, before turning back towards Adrien and offering a sardonic grin. "Act? I could have been picking fruit out of my wineglass in a Corloka Way villa right now if I hadn't been distracted from the stage by the daily thrills and lofty heroism of a life in private security." She paused. "Also the guns. I like those too."
She stood up. "And speaking of guns, I'm going to need to go get the rest of mine." This can be abstracted in the name of keeping the plot moving.
edited 25th Feb '15 12:13:29 PM by nrjxll
[Entertainment Hall — Outside Ship of Marvels]
Marion
had almost recalled which stall she was thinking of when some voices jarred her out of her thoughts. Out of habit, she looked around for their source. The only people nearby were some blonde kid and... Eh, whatever. They kind of sounded like they needed some help. Not something she'd normally bother with, but she was feeling a little altruistic at the moment.
She walked up to them. "You sound like you're looking for someone and you look lost. You lost? Name's Marion Rakivata."
Looks like you're talking to us—hope I'm not mistaken.
[Entertainment Hall—Near the Ship of Marvels]
Somlan looked at the stranger, his expression one of surprise.
"Oh," he said, lost for words for a moment. "Well, no, not lost, precisely, just unfamiliar with the Fair. Personally I'm hoping to find, ah—resurrection magic. Or, I suppose, technology. We're also on the lookout for a dangerous man who followed us—er, me—to the Fair. Not actually hunting him or anything, I just don't want to be taken by surprise if he should choose to come after us. I don't have any information that'd be useful in identifying him, though, so it's a bit of a moot point, really. Sorry," he added. "I'm Somlan Erris, and this is Shay."
[Showcase Hall—Side Building]
That tells me all I need to know. He might be playing it safe, guarding his hand—but on the surface, he doesn't seem to know any specifics. Perhaps he's assumed I have knowledge or experience with magic because of my garb. Well, it's also safe for him to assume I had to have some method of reaching this Fair, and I've already eliminated the possibility of claiming technological means. Best not to throw away a potential opportunity. Perhaps this Fat Man has resources I could make use of, given the chance. Yes, play along. But caution. Caution.
Masum raised a hand as if to dismiss the concern.
"Sorry, I shouldn't be so guarded. There's magic where I come from, though I myself have only rudimentary talent with it. I guess... yes, I guess I do have a few talents that would serve well as an information gathering tool. I just wouldn't like to get involved in anything, um, untoward, you understand. We are meeting in a somewhat, ah, out-of-the-way location. I don't suppose I might be able to meet this—Fat Man?"
No, certainly you won't let me do that. But your response will be telling.
edited 25th Feb '15 12:26:23 PM by SolipSchism
[Camp Leatherneck]
"Sounds good," Xiong said, pulling out a phone and dialing a number. She gave several commands in Liturgical Maurosian, not translated in this universe. "They're on their way. Shouldn't be long..."
[Parking Lot]
Her agent found it quickly enough. A dark, vaguely Mediterranean-looking man with a massive beard, oiled and braided in a style remiscient of Sumeria, in priestly-looking black robes with touches of shocking pink. He took a look around, and, if anyone was there, would brusquely warn them that any magic users should keep away. Otherwise, he'd set straight to opening the portal, manipulating a cube and a sphere, both of the same stained-glass material as the Vakaza armor.
[Showcase Hall - Western Amalgamated Tent] (Veneris, Iono, Mev, Ksana)
"Well," she began to say to Ksana, "I mostly think what Xiong and Rose do, so..."
Then it sank in. After quietly clicking an alert on her phone, Veneris looked at Mev and said, "uh, sorry, but there's a lotta people who're gonna want to nix that plan. So, uh, explain yourself."
[Showcase Hall - Side Building]
"Certainly!" Gerrune agreed, offering a smile that exposed a large amount of sharp fangs, though he didn't seem to mean it as threatening. "If you'll wait for just a moment."
His eyes glazed over momentarily before refocusing on Masum. "The Fat Man will see you now. If you'll follow me?"
He turned towards the building and opened the door. Inside (assuming Masum followed him) the building was devoid of most furnishings beyond a light fixture overhead, three small metal-foam chairs - one in the center, two against the walls - and a shelf on the back wall which held a pair of small metal spheres. One was dark and devoid of any decorations beyond a whorled white pattern on its surface; the other was dimpled and bronzed, looking vaguely like a golf ball with a flattened bottom. The chair in the center was empty, while two people in brown and grey clothing sat in the chairs against the sides - a smiling red-haired human woman and a large glowering green-skinned shvuimnote . Both of them held bulky guns.
Gerrune moved to the shelf and pressed several of the indentations on the bronze sphere. Its bottom side lit with a green glow, and it lifted up and hovered until it was in the center of the room, then projected a full-color but slightly transparent image of an obese man wearing old-fashioned clothing, a mask, and a high-collared red cape.
Gerrune gestured with one arm while keeping his head lowered. "Masum Mochnem, I present to you my employer, the Fat Man."
[Showcase Hall - Side Building]
Masum let his gaze wander as they entered the building, but he didn't let it linger on anything but Gerrune and the shelf he was obviously headed towards. The demons watched the two seated individuals, though. Could one of them be the Fat Man?
The image came as a genuine surprise, which quickly faded.
I should have seen this coming. When you can send a metal fairy to relay your words across long distances, surely relaying your own image is no difficult task. But I was right about one thing—this is no honest businessman. He keeps his location and his face a secret, and those two sitting down... Those are weapons they're holding. They can't possibly be anything else. Ranged, no doubt, and judging by everything else I've seen here, far more dangerous than the crossbows they vaguely resemble.
Nevertheless, he let his honest surprise at the technology show on his face. After a moment—long enough to flatter the Fat Man with a display of awe, but quickly enough to avoid seeming like a complete idiot—he mirrored Gerrune's gesture and lowered his head. Through infernal eyes, though, he watched both Gerrune and the Fat Man carefully.
"Ah—Sir," he said, awkwardly. Yes. You are intimidated by the weapons, the secrecy, the technology. Humble. Meek. "I suppose I've already been introduced. I was, um, well. Mr. Gerrune here has been telling me that you, er. That I might be able to help you. Sir."
Entertainment Hall- Outside Ship of Marvels with Somlan and Marion
"I was thinking more on the lines of Wanted: Wizard Warlord. Knows necromancy. Though you are right, I don't suppose he would be using his powers in public." she replied with a sigh but was still grinning. Her head turned to a girl who approached them asking if they needed help and chuckled a bit at Somlan who seemed to have a hard time explaining their situation and had introduced them. "Howdy." Shay replied to the girl with a wave then decided to add in her own two cents on their problem.
"Our situation is a tad complicated. We're looking for a man who uses necromancy and is rather dangerous. Thing is, we have no idea what he looks like and only know his name."
edited 26th Feb '15 10:05:06 AM by Sphinxyness
"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"[Entertainment Hall—Outside the Ship of Marvels]
"Um," Somlan interrupted, "I think I may have miscommunicated a bit. I don't have any reason to think Aeron is a necromancer. If I did, I might be trying to track him down to ask for his help. I mean, that's kind of a joke, because he's still dangerous. But my interest in raising the dead is part of my mission—the Vizier and I are here to look for a way to return our King from the dead. Aeron is just a, well, a complication."
edited 26th Feb '15 10:26:52 AM by SolipSchism
[Showcase Hall - Side Building]
The Fat Man inclined his head. "Indeed he has," he said. "However. I notice that you don't seem entirely certain about that yourself. Let me assure you: from what we've observed of you so far, you're exactly the sort of temporary employee we're looking for."
Sorry it's really short - I have to get going soon.
edited 26th Feb '15 11:35:56 AM by nrjxll
[Showcase Hall - Side Building] No worries.
Something about the Fat Man's demeanor sparked an impulse.
Time for a risk.
He straightened his posture and dropped the slack-jawed expression, looked at the Fat Man directly. Not down his nose, but not from under his brow either.
"Sir," he repeated, but calm and neutral this time. He spoke as if the two were alone. "I am curious about the nature and purpose of this work you offer. Clearly you are some kind of information broker—a line of work that's never without its risks, or dealings in dangerous circles. Are you merely after a profit? You are, of course, free to answer or decline as you please."

[Entertainment Hall — Ship of Marvels]
"Well, in that case..." Marion wrote out another, identical check, then scribbled "VOID" on the back and handed it to voSudir. "Here. Same check, but you can't cash this one. Can't have you taking that much money, can I? Still get money, still get physical check for display. Everyone's happy." She grinned.
Then she cleared her throat, flexed her wings a little, and straightened her suit. "Anyway, thank you for your time. I wish you good business in the future." She nodded, then turned and exited the ship. Not sure where to go next. Although I did see a certain stall...
[Showcase Hall — Western Amalgamated tent]
"Well, fine," said Ksana, "so maybe I said science when I should've said, I don't know, physics or something. But physics says energy is conserved, and that's not necessarily the case with magic. Physics says things fall down, and that's not necessarily the case with magic. Physics says water is attracted to stuff, and blah de blah." She waved a hand vaguely. "Point is, you can take all the measurements you want with physics, and they'll be fine and good... until magic comes along and breaks them."
She rustled her wings a little as she gathered her thoughts. "We do have people studying it, it's not really a religion, so I guess it is science of a sort. But when I say 'science', do you think magic fire or Large Hadron Collider?"
She didn't pay much attention to Mev. She wasn't going to be here much longer, anyway.
[Camp Leatherneck]
"There's a parking lot near the Fair," said Peter. "A little..." He frowned and tried to recall the position of the sun at the time. His lips moved soundlessly and he pointed in random directions to try to jog his memory. He didn't know how precise these portals were, so he might as well give them a general location relative to the Fair. "...a little west-southwest," he said eventually. We've got a truck there, company name and logo on the side."
edited 23rd Feb '15 10:44:04 PM by TeraChimera