Naiko pulls out a single green, marble-like object from her bag.
"Money. Or what passes for it nowadays. They used coins in the city once, but those days are over. There are about 500 polkon in that bag of yours. I don't want you to spend that today, that's a gift from me to you. You might need it some day."
"Not much, unless he knows you're here, which we're fairly confident he doesn't. At least not yet. Travellers from the other side are a sure sign of large magical fluctuations. What this means is that either the Lord-Mayor is testing some sort of new, magical device, or even more worrysome, someone else is, and it's managed to go undetected."
"Long story short, he might have suspicions, but for now, he doesn't know anyone's here for certain, and certainly not you specifically. Though it would probably not be a bad idea to teach you some self-defense."
Naiko leads you through a winding maze of twisty roads flanked by high-rise apartments and shops, often caked several layers high, many with neon or gaudily painted wooden signs, both in plain English and what seem like two or three other languages you don't speak and have never seen before. Unfortunately, it's now mid-morning, so the streets are a bit busy, and you have to continually struggle to not bump into the assorted people (human or otherwise) that pass you.
Finally, Naiko takes a left down a thin back-alley, and stops in front of an unmarked black door. "We're here!"
Remember back in the 50s when they'd record like Elvis singing YOU AIN'T NOTHIN BUT A HOUND DOG and then they'd turn the record over and reverse it and it was all NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP and people were all like, "That is actually the voice of Satan coming from that song."
Follow Naiko inside, provided we don't need to perform any secret knocks or passwords.
Naiko gives the door two hard, solid, raps, and it opens inward, seemingly without anyone holding it.
As you enter, the door shuts behind you, and it becomes obvious that you are in a bookstore or library of some sort. It's not a large area, and is only a single room, but the shelves are densely packed. To your right, there's a counter--presumably for checkout or purchase--though no one seems to be there at the moment. Next to the counter and shelfspace, in the third area of the room, is a small lounge with a few chairs. One of them is occupied by a woman with long, deep purple hair, who appears to be engrossed in an old tome she's reading.
Remember back in the 50s when they'd record like Elvis singing YOU AIN'T NOTHIN BUT A HOUND DOG and then they'd turn the record over and reverse it and it was all NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP and people were all like, "That is actually the voice of Satan coming from that song."
Quietly ask Naiko what we should be looking for, so as not to disturb the other patron.
Naiko gives a brisk knock on the counter, and you see what seems to be a plant sprouting up from out of the floor. After a few moments, the "bulb" grows to roughly the size of your head, and opens, revealing a single, purplish eye.
"Good morn, Naiko. Is this your new, hm, assistant?"
The creature speaks in a deep, bassy tone and bends its head in your general direction as it asks.
"You could say that. Is the back room open right now?"
"I'm afraid not. Else I'm sure Ms. Variance would also be there. However, if you are willing to wait around a moment, I can, hm, possibly arrange something."
"That'd be lovely, thank you, Uir."
"A pleasure, Miss Naiko."
The creature recedes into the floor, reversing the process it underwent to appear there, and disappearing entirely from view.
"Well, I guess now we wait. You can have a look around, Ellie, anyone who'd come in here is trustworthy."
The books aren't really anything you recognize. They have names like The Demonology of Enoch, The Book of Eleven Hours, and The Scrolls of The Red Sun. There are a few books you do recognize at least the titles of, crammed into a small section labeled "Recovered". These are mostly old editions of classic novels, and a few more recent post-modernist works, as well as a single play collection from Samuel Beckett.
The back room is devoid of books, and for that matter, much else. The plant-creature is rooted in the floor at one end, and the patron from outside somehow entered the room before you did without you noticing. There's also a whiteish, small humanoid with pointy ears and a large mouth crouched in the corner, it opens its mouth and emits a barely-audible wheeze.
"Good day to you!" The odd white creature has opened its mouth again, and it scrambles to the middle of the room, eyeing you intently. Its voice sounds recorded. Particularly, it sounds like it's coming from a very old, dusty record.
"You must be Eleanor." He says declaratively.
"I assume you and Naiko have already gotten acquainted, so I will introduce myself. I am Malcolm, former servant to Lord-Mayor Philgrim, sorceror, and book collector. These two--" Malcolm gestures with his large head to the plant creature and the woman with purple hair respectively. "Are Uir and Yakarin. Colleagues, one might say."
"Now I'm sure you are overflowing with questions, and I'll be glad to answer them! But first, we have some things to give you. Yaka! Fetch the self-defense!"
Yakarin mutely hands you a small, cloth-wrapped object.
"A wand! Lost technology in this day and age. But before the banning of magic, wands were a quick and easy way to unleash specific configurations of magical energy--spells, one might say--that one can fire lightning, a truly marvelous trick! But it's old, and subsequently, fragile. So do be careful, and do use it sparingly."
[ACQUIRED: Lightning Wand!]
"Now, it's already been a day and a half since your arrival. It's possible the Lord-Mayor and his agents have detected you already, which is unfortunate." Malcolm scratches his chin. "I'd like to tell you we have a plan for getting you back home, but our dear friend Naiko's arrival some ten years ago in a more low-key fashion revealed no secrets to us, and I am sad to say we still have none. But I am confident we will find a way! We merely need time, which is a resource we are unfortunately short on. I am a man of many contacts, and tomorrow I will send you and your mentor into the deep city to meet with an old friend of mine. Until then, you may do as you wish."
Malcolm turns to Uir and Yakarin. "Dismissed!" Yakarin leaves, and Uir sinks back into the floor.
"Now my dear girl, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I am far from omnipotent, but I will tell you all I can."
[INVENTORY: a key with an N engraved on one side, 500 Polkon in a small bag, a lightning wand]
Malcom's mouth hangs agape for a moment, and he stares into the distance
"A bus? You misunderstand. You have not come to this city by mere physical distance. You have come here through strange magics, which is what we are trying to help reverse."
"I just said we do not understand them! All we know is that you have come here by some unnatural means, and we are attempting to send you back before you--or worse the city's people--are put in danger."
Remember back in the 50s when they'd record like Elvis singing YOU AIN'T NOTHIN BUT A HOUND DOG and then they'd turn the record over and reverse it and it was all NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP NYERP and people were all like, "That is actually the voice of Satan coming from that song."
"Lord-Mayor Philgrim Truggalug, an older orcish man, he was elected a solid decade ago now. We were friends many years ago but, well, you know the maxim about power corrupting. I wish I could answer your second question, but we only know he's after you from prior experience. We don't really know why."
"When Naiko came, he went after her in a similar fashion. Luckily, Naiko was able to lay low long enough that the Mayor eventually became convinced she was dead. This is why she wears such an unusual outfit today and indeed, why she is called Naiko at all. I am not at liberty to tell you her real name."
ask Malcolm what he means when he says you may do as you wish, inferring that he probably won't let you just wander wherever you please under the circumstances
maybe feel a bit resentful about this, even though you know it's partly for your own safety
"Merely do not do anything suspicious, and you may otherwise do as you like until I send you to The Underdusk tomorrow evening. Unless you'd prefer me to restrict you further in some way? I couldn't imagine why you would."
"I am glad to hear that. However, I had no prior inclination to believe that you would. In any case, we've talked for some time, and I must prepare things for your journey tomorrow. I will leave you and Naiko to your devices. Goodbye, Eleanor."
Malcolm opens his mouth and emits a low, moaning warble. As he does so, he slowly fades from view.
"I don't know, one of Malcolm's men came by a little while ago and said we needed to meet him near the lower town border as soon as possible."
Naiko isn't wearing her normal outfit, what she is wearing is actually a rather nondescript brown coat and hat. It's much more well-kept than the clothes you last saw her wearing, if a bit over formal for the occasion.
Comments
"It's polkon."
Naiko pulls out a single green, marble-like object from her bag.
"Money. Or what passes for it nowadays. They used coins in the city once, but those days are over. There are about 500 polkon in that bag of yours. I don't want you to spend that today, that's a gift from me to you. You might need it some day."
Also, ask why they changed currencies.
"Not much, unless he knows you're here, which we're fairly confident he doesn't. At least not yet. Travellers from the other side are a sure sign of large magical fluctuations. What this means is that either the Lord-Mayor is testing some sort of new, magical device, or even more worrysome, someone else is, and it's managed to go undetected."
"Long story short, he might have suspicions, but for now, he doesn't know anyone's here for certain, and certainly not you specifically. Though it would probably not be a bad idea to teach you some self-defense."
Naiko waves her hand.
"Not right this moment. We're going shopping! Come along now."
Naiko makes her way to the door, and opens it.
Naiko leads you through a winding maze of twisty roads flanked by high-rise apartments and shops, often caked several layers high, many with neon or gaudily painted wooden signs, both in plain English and what seem like two or three other languages you don't speak and have never seen before. Unfortunately, it's now mid-morning, so the streets are a bit busy, and you have to continually struggle to not bump into the assorted people (human or otherwise) that pass you.
Finally, Naiko takes a left down a thin back-alley, and stops in front of an unmarked black door. "We're here!"
Naiko gives the door two hard, solid, raps, and it opens inward, seemingly without anyone holding it.
As you enter, the door shuts behind you, and it becomes obvious that you are in a bookstore or library of some sort. It's not a large area, and is only a single room, but the shelves are densely packed. To your right, there's a counter--presumably for checkout or purchase--though no one seems to be there at the moment. Next to the counter and shelfspace, in the third area of the room, is a small lounge with a few chairs. One of them is occupied by a woman with long, deep purple hair, who appears to be engrossed in an old tome she's reading.
"Not a what, but a whom."
Naiko gives a brisk knock on the counter, and you see what seems to be a plant sprouting up from out of the floor. After a few moments, the "bulb" grows to roughly the size of your head, and opens, revealing a single, purplish eye.
"Good morn, Naiko. Is this your new, hm, assistant?"
The creature speaks in a deep, bassy tone and bends its head in your general direction as it asks.
"You could say that. Is the back room open right now?"
"I'm afraid not. Else I'm sure Ms. Variance would also be there. However, if you are willing to wait around a moment, I can, hm, possibly arrange something."
"That'd be lovely, thank you, Uir."
"A pleasure, Miss Naiko."
The creature recedes into the floor, reversing the process it underwent to appear there, and disappearing entirely from view.
"Well, I guess now we wait. You can have a look around, Ellie, anyone who'd come in here is trustworthy."
The purple-haired patron is still absorbed in her book. It's titled Other Worlds.
There are currently no other patrons in the shop. Aside from yourself and Naiko.
An innocuous wall on the far end of the store slides open, and the plant creature reappears behind the counter.
"Please, make your way into the back room. I'll meet you in there shortly."
If nobody does, remind Naiko that she still hasn't told you exactly what you're here for.
use the salts to revive thread
"You must be Eleanor." He says declaratively.
"I assume you and Naiko have already gotten acquainted, so I will introduce myself. I am Malcolm, former servant to Lord-Mayor Philgrim, sorceror, and book collector. These two--" Malcolm gestures with his large head to the plant creature and the woman with purple hair respectively. "Are Uir and Yakarin. Colleagues, one might say."
"Now I'm sure you are overflowing with questions, and I'll be glad to answer them! But first, we have some things to give you. Yaka! Fetch the self-defense!"
Yakarin mutely hands you a small, cloth-wrapped object.
"A wand! Lost technology in this day and age. But before the banning of magic, wands were a quick and easy way to unleash specific configurations of magical energy--spells, one might say--that one can fire lightning, a truly marvelous trick! But it's old, and subsequently, fragile. So do be careful, and do use it sparingly."
[ACQUIRED: Lightning Wand!]
"Now, it's already been a day and a half since your arrival. It's possible the Lord-Mayor and his agents have detected you already, which is unfortunate." Malcolm scratches his chin. "I'd like to tell you we have a plan for getting you back home, but our dear friend Naiko's arrival some ten years ago in a more low-key fashion revealed no secrets to us, and I am sad to say we still have none. But I am confident we will find a way! We merely need time, which is a resource we are unfortunately short on. I am a man of many contacts, and tomorrow I will send you and your mentor into the deep city to meet with an old friend of mine. Until then, you may do as you wish."
Malcolm turns to Uir and Yakarin. "Dismissed!" Yakarin leaves, and Uir sinks back into the floor.
"Now my dear girl, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! I am far from omnipotent, but I will tell you all I can."
[INVENTORY: a key with an N engraved on one side, 500 Polkon in a small bag, a lightning wand]
then, articulate concern at your inability to return home, and ask why you can't just get the bus
"A bus? You misunderstand. You have not come to this city by mere physical distance. You have come here through strange magics, which is what we are trying to help reverse."
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
maybe feel a bit resentful about this, even though you know it's partly for your own safety
Malcolm opens his mouth and emits a low, moaning warble. As he does so, he slowly fades from view.
Assassin poems, Poems that shoot
guns. Poems that wrestle cops into alleys
and take their weapons leaving them dead
Naiko isn't wearing her normal outfit, what she is wearing is actually a rather nondescript brown coat and hat. It's much more well-kept than the clothes you last saw her wearing, if a bit over formal for the occasion.