[IC][Exalted 2.5] The Emerald Labyrinth

[Dietaku]

As you walk off the hustle and bustle of the airship dock, away from the friendly environs, into the new city. You enter into a cobblestone square, with a hustle and bustle of people, centered around a large fountain in the center of the space. On one end is a crowd of people gathered around a large dead carcass on a cart. Cheers and happy singing are coming from the crowd, while on the other side, there is a small market of vendors selling their wares. You can see a variety of merchants, from Guildsmen to the infamous Icecrowners peddling the pale Rimesilk they're so famous for, and many, many others.

Near the fountain is a full-figured woman in the robes of an Immaculate monk, her Rosary of the Five Dragons, stashed in her sash like a sword, and more unusual of all, an unruly mane of curls the color of the sky flows about her head. She's currently engaged in a Punch and Judy rendition of the Immaculate Dragons slaying the Anathema and sealing their souls in darkness for a gaggle of children and a band of hecklers.

What will you do?

[Magnusar]

Ever since he stepped off the airship Unrestrained Lover found the city to be full of opportunity for his knowledge of technology to be applied. Lokking to his new business partner (He still has trouble with the concept of currency) Lin Zarah the small woman had proven to be a good ally in this new world. Covered from head to toe in his furcoat with most of his face hidden behind a large scarf he found onboard so that he would not stadn out too much.

"I believed you said you have secured a residence of a sort in this city should we go see it ?"

[Wise Old Guru]

"-and get us some more walrus oil!" The raspy voice of Grandpa Ragnar, which the airship's passengers had by necessity become accustomed to over the last couple of weeks, rang out in the cold air. "We need to keep the engine from freezing up while we're in port! And we're low on spare sailcloth after that port side repair, so some of that, and see if you can't get find a good blacksmith who can replace the patch on the aft boiler, it's not gonna hold more than another month or two at best."

"Yes, Ragnar." Nergui nodded, waving over his shoulder at the old engineer.

As he headed out into the crowd, he became quickly distracted by the puppet show. He watched from the side as the children laughed at the foolish Anathema and the slapstick comeuppance for their evils, and he smiled and chuckled along with them. As the show wound to its end, he quietly asked the puppeteer, "Do you know the one where Snowshoe Hare tricks Father Winter into giving away his fire?"

[dreamking89]

Orca steps off the airship, pulling his coat closer to himself, making a 'brrr' noise as he did so, "Who willingly lives up here in this frozen hell, I'll never know." It had been a cold trip on the airship, and nothing made Orca miss home more than the cold. Back in the West, his voyages on his ship (the Storm's Saber) were long, treacherous and more often than not deadly, but at least they weren't cold.

He tosses a jade piece to a vendor as he picks up an apple from a cart and looked around Last Chance. This had to be the place Plentimon was talking about. Months of traveling from frozen hellhole to frozen hellhole looking for signs hinting towards the gambling god's riddle had finally paid off. And hopefully the people he had met on board the ship would be able to help as well.

"Hey, I'm pretty far north," He says to no one in particular as he bites the apple, "Maybe I can work out here without worrying about...." He pauses, seeing the puppet show being put on by the Immaculate Monk, "Oh....son of a bitch...."

[Exthalion]

"She does them a disservice."

The woman who spoke up was well into middle age, her graying hair drawn back in a severe braid. She had a matronly sort of cast, but an expression that said she would take poorly to being called "mother" or "madame".

"Happy endings are won with sorrow and sacrifice, if they are won at all, and life does not provide neatly packaged endings. This is good for raising up a crop of dreamers and fools who will end up miserable or dead."

She turned to her companion.

"Or am I just a bitter old spinster who can't let other people be happy?"

[wonderandawe]

Lin Zarah stepped off of the airship into the cold. She pulled her fine fur cloak tightly around her neck. One day I will get used to this cold, she told herself. She smiled at the monk and her Anathema puppets. How I loved that show as a child. As she walked past the monk, she put a coin in the offering bowl. "Dragons bless you, sister," Zarah said in Skytongue. May they bless you with blindness, so I will not need to have you killed. It was not the monks fault she had been taught lies all her life.

Zarah quickly caught up with the Unrestrained Lover. "Yes, our contact was to meet us there. I'm glad the airships at least keep to some sort of schedule" She smiled at Nergui, the Airship Captain, before turning and heading into town.

[Wise Old Guru]

Nergui startled at the harsh voice interrupting the children's chatter. He turned to look at the matronly woman, frowning.

Slowly, he raised a finger to his lips.

"Ssh," he declared.

[wonderandawe]

Zarah whispers to Orca, "Please don't start anything here. The monk is nothing to us." She smiles at the fruit vendor and compliments their selection of fruit.

"We should hurry." Zarah says in a more normal tone of voice. "I do not want to have our contact to wait long. Anyways, I am eager to see this warehouse." To see if it even exists. Even after a few months in the north, Zarah was still wary of their more informal ways.

[dreamking89]

"I'm not gonna start anything. Why would I start something?" Orca says following after Zarah, "The Immaculates are probably freezing their holier-than-thou asses off as much as I am. The last thing they want is a sun demon or whatever the hell they tell people we are."

[Exthalion]

Merciful's eye twitched as "she" walked beside Joachim. At this rate it wouldn't matter if no one found out, the Wyld Hunt would burn the emerald down around them.

"You know I am going to have start soon." He didn't say what, but he didn't need to. "Are you alright with that?"

[wonderandawe]

"To be honest, the one thing this direction needs is more sun. " Zarah said, as she carefully made her way though the muddy slush covering the road.

Zarah looks over the various wares as they followed the directions to the warehouse. She made a note of the various types of tools and equipment used to explore the Emerald Labyrinth. "I have idea of how we can start out. We will supply the explorers with simple but quality tools needed to explore the Labyrinth. I suggest we not undercut our competition. We want to be know for quality, not cheap shit. And frankly if half the stories I have heard about this place are true, you do not want to skimp when supplying yourself. " She must think of a slogan based on that idea. Something catchy.

"Once we make a name for ourselves, we will be the first group the explorers come to when they wish to unload any usual findings they might have. Of course, we will be doing a bit of exploring ourselves. " Zarah was well aware of Orca's wish to enter the Labyrinth. A wish Zarah also shared. She was tired of sitting in offices all day with paperwork. Time to explore and test herself and this power she was gifted.

"Hopefully, we can hired some workers soon. I don't mean to waste your talents by forging picks and sewing tarps. But we all have to do some drudgery at first."

[Magnusar]

"if you are that cold you should have let me make that coat for you Orca. Still I will need to find a book on what the words in your world means most of the time I have no idea what you are talking about, what's a demon ?"

Lin's words made Unrestrained lover smile under his scarf for a second he felt as if he was talking to another alchemical.

"Every small work can carry with it the fate of thousands where I come from, you will not hear me complain as long as we make progress. I will come to the labyrinth with you and I have a few things in mind that could be helpful with our project regarding tools and gear for expedition."

[dreamking89]

"I wore this coat when I stole my first ship from the Realm Navy." Orca says to the Alchemical, adjusting the (admittedly out of place) captain's coat he wore. "I wore it when found the Library of Bones and took most of it's contents before Moray Darktide even knew I was there. Most importantly, I wore this coat when I bet all my worldly wealth on a roll of the dice against a god of gambling. This coat has been good to me, Lover. And I don't leave behind what's been good to me."

"I don't know how much good I'll be in setting up a business, Zarah." Orca continues, "I know how to keep a crew happy and fed, but that's hardly enough savvy to get the Guild to start quaking in their boots. As I said, I'm considered a master in alchemy and I dabble in the artificy, so if you can find any use for that I'm...." He pauses, then turns back to Lover.

"Wait....you don't know what a demon is? Remind me to sit down and talk to you about where you're from again."

[wonderandawe]

Zarah brushed some snow off of the fine coat that the Unrestrained Lover made for Zarah in thanks for help with the Haslanti League.

"People usually mean two things when they use the word "Demon". The first are the demons summoned by sorcery from Malfeas. I don't really know much about those demons. I have only seen them time a few times."

"The second are Anathema. The story goes that the corrupt rulers from a lost age stole the power of the sun and moon and used this power to terrorize the people. The dragon blooded rose up against these corrupt rulers and destroyed them. However these Anathema managed to cheat death and go around stealing the soul of the unrighteous and taking over their bodies. There are different variations of the story. The story is a lie to support the authority of the Dragonblooded, who now a days go about using their power to terrorize the people. "

[Magnusar]

Unrestrained Lover felt the weight of that mistake on his shoulder the second it came out of his mouth damn his curiosity about everything.

"It is a long story to explain but in simple terms, I'm not from around here and I'm not sure if I explained it that you would be able to comprehend it, at least not yet my friend. I will need to learn more of these demons from malfeas."