Sasha
“It got your arm fixed, which seems a fair price, Heathen.”
Sasha glanced at the ‘scrying stone’ but it had nothing special about it.
“You are right, though. We should visit the fires and see what the stones can tell us for we should.”
As he leaves to find the first fire, Sasha stoops to snatch up a grey pebble from the floor that had been calling to him, and tucks it into his pouch.
GM POST
@DaakSyde @William_George @MalevolentPixy @strokeybeard @Macro
Following the scent of smoke, Thwip and Sasha stroll through the streets towards the theatre.
The city is bustling, and business carries on as usual. There does seem to be a hint of tension in the air, however; muttered conversations and suspicious looks follow the dwarf and goblin as they move through the streets.
The theatre is still smoking, but the fire is out. A small crowd of people are milling around outside; some cleaning up and stamping on embers, some merely looking on. An attractive young woman sits on the street, sobbing into the shoulder of an older male companion.
Hayu
As she watches, she listens. Her Arabic isn’t perfect, but it’s better than most people’s who didn’t grow up with the language and thanks to Hassan, she’s well aware of some of the more emphatic expressions.
People around here are on edge, mostly because the Christians are on edge and jumping to conclusions. Some mutter over whether they should leave while they still can, while others vow to fight if trouble comes. Still more just hope it will all blow over. Every now and then, someone drops a coin in her cup: perhaps out of habit, perhaps in fear of his soul. Allah, after all, is said to be pleased with charity; maybe if they are kind He’ll do the same.
That’s something, at least. When gossip reveals so little, it says more than most people know. When Émile worked, for example, even merchants who never dared venture near the dens of thieves muttered about business losses and money owed. There’s none of that here, only fear. That makes this arsonist worse than Émile, she decides. Cruel as he was, it was targeted. These fires seem like they are aimed at everybody with the sole purpose of stoking fear and unrest.
She mutters something under her breath, one of Hassan’s favourite expressions when an experiment went wrong rather spectacularly. This bâtard had best hope she never gets her hands on him.
Thwip
Thwip nods towards the crying woman in case Sasha missed them, and then head gestures at the crowd putting out embers. Taking Sasha’s silence for agreement, he walks towards the crowd.
As he nears, “Hello friends. Were travelers tat just arrivedt. We feel tat what happendt here is a shame. We half two strong backs and we’t like t’ assist yi in t’ clean up ifin yi’ll half us.”
GM POST
@DaakSyde @William_George @MalevolentPixy @strokeybeard @Macro
The nearest of the men hunting embers stops and stares hard at Thwip. He is carrying a bucket of water, and had until now been dousing the last hints of the fire.
After a moment, he shrugs and says “there’ll be no proper cleanup today I reckon, but if you want to stomp on some embers, feel free”. With that, he turns back to his task.
Thwip
– Heh. Heh. Perfect. –
“We’re gladt t’ do anyting tat kin help. Let’s go, companion Sasha.”
Thwip begins to step delicately into the ruins as far as he can. Scanning what hasn’t burnt down. Trying to see if he can follow the path the fire took.
– Logically one should start with what isn’t burnt and then work back to what is. Presumably there may be a clue at the place or places where the fire was lit.–
He stomps on some embers. Working under the assumption Sasha has been mutely following him this entire time, he begins to speak to the dwarf in a low voice.
“I’m tinkingk tat ifin there is one or two spots were t’ fire was lit ten tat wouldt be a sign off a single arsonist. But ifin tere are numberous places it started ten tat wouldt suggest an orkanized attack. Unless it was magick. I hope it wasn’t magick. Ten this could mean tere’s a mad mage in tis town.”
– It’s not that I dislike magic. It’s just so… fuzzy… in how it works. It’s hard to plan around it. Give me a good pulley and lever system anytime.–
Sasha
Sasha looks at the burnt building, angry at the thought that this had been done deliberately.
Ignoring Thwip, he reaches out his senses, feeling the space of the building, covered in ash. He feels also the pockets of heat, glowing embers waiting to spring back into life and burn again. He scrapes a sign into the ash, odd marks representing his knowledge of the fire and it’s remnants. Aligning his spirit with the sigil and the reality of the ash strewn building he claps his hands together.
<casts Extinguish Fire, happy to pay whatever cost it is to put the building out>
The clap sounds louder than it should, reverberating off the burnt timbers. A sudden drop in temperature as the ash goes cold and all the embers go out is accompanied by gasps from those still hunting embers.
Satisfied that the fire will not restart he leaves Thwip to investigate the cause of the blaze and instead walks over to the crying young woman and her companion.
“I am sorry I was not here sooner, I could have saved more had I been. What do you know of this evil business? Were there any lives lost to it?”
Ranar waits for Eoin to speak, but something about the last thing that Waleed said seems to have made Eoin uncomfortable and cast him into introspection.
“I…I know naught of that. B-but we’re here now, f-for the moment. Passing through. Along the way, we’ve acquired some - ahh - unusual things. Eoin here thought that you might be interested in them. I’m not entirely keen on selling them, but we will need funding for further travels. So I’ve agreed to this meet. What sort of things are you looking for?”
GM POST
@DaakSyde @William_George @MalevolentPixy @strokeybeard @Macro
The man looks up at Sasha’s words, while the woman buries her face in his shoulder and quietly weeps.
“Yes” he says, grimly.
“Who are you? What do you mean you could have saved more?”
“Looking for? Many things; I am a humble student of the world.”
Imam Waleed pulls a chair from behind a cluttered desk and sits down. “What is it that you have to sell? We may be able to make a trade. I know many things and many people.”
Sasha
“I am Sasha DeStijl and I am a Warden Of The Fires That Burn In The Dark. Had I been here sooner I may have stopped the fire instead of snuffing the embers.”
“Where I come from there are many sins - murder, greed, carelessness - but arson is a special case. A fire underground can burn for years, poisoning the air and eating the rocks. A firestarter cannot be suffered to pay weregeld or survive a punishment. Do you know of who or why this was done, so that I may bring them to Justice?”
“Ahh, a student of the world! Therein we have s-something in c-common. I have traveled quite a bit myself but still have far to go. So much to see and learn! For instance, did you know that there are artisans on the surface capable of making high-quality weaponry? Not dwarven perhaps but nonetheless beautiful, well-forged, balanced, sharpened, to a degree of skill that any dwarf would be proud of. Such pieces as would serve equally well as showcase works of art on display or as a daily working armament.”
“Consider Eoin’s sword here. Note how the blade flexes, note the weighting and balance. How firmly the guard, grip, and pommel are attached. See the care and precision that went into etching the emblem here? That marks it as a piece with historic cultural significance, although I am unfamiliar with the origin of the symbol. Have your travels led you much to the west?”
Thwip
– Doesn’t magical fire simply appear and burn? I wish I had paid attention to that part. Might be an idea to see if any of the building has fallen into the surrounding streets. Could be a reaction from mixing the elements. Hmmm. –
GM POST
@DaakSyde @William_George @MalevolentPixy @strokeybeard @Macro
The man’s eyes shine with anger.
“It was those bloody Hazis that did it! If the Prince doesn’t do something, we will!”
As he says this, the woman’s eyes flash fear, and she clutches at the man. He looks down and calms as he returns to comforting her.
Waleed’s eyes widen at the sight of the sword, and he takes it from Eoin’s hands with a somewhat reverential air.
“Wazifi work, dating from the War of Independence if I’m any judge. Very nice, very nice. Where did you find it?” he asks, with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
Thwip’s far-hearing ears perk up. He slaps a look of earnest well-meaning upon his face.
“Yi kin who did it? Tat’s great. Give us his or her name andt location andt we’ll round tem up and turn tem over to t’ guard.” he calls over to the man.
He continues, “Mebee yi kin come wit us to identify tem? An arsonist is a dangerous beingk andt yir witness wouldt help a lot.”
Ranar looks down, sadly. “A friend that I traveled with, all too…too briefly, w-was a collector, an a enthusiast. Not just a collector, he was extremely skilled. If he were here, he could easily defeat all of us with any weapon, with one hand tied behind his back. But… H-he couldn’t…” Ranar takes a sharp breath. “He is no longer with us.” Ranar chokes up a bit and pauses to catch his breath.
“His weapons were his life. They should go to someone who would appreciate their quality and cherish them as he did. So you see, that is why we came to you.”
GM POST
@DaakSyde @William_George @MalevolentPixy @strokeybeard @Macro
Waleed’s eyes fill with sympathy, and he grasps Ranar’s hands as he quickly mutters “‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. Allahumma ujurni fi musibati, wakhluf li khairan minha”.
“I would be honoured to help you find a buyer for these magnificent weapons. How many items does the collection consist of?”
“Is there anything else I could help you with? You are new in the city, and I know many people”.
Thwip’s pottering around reveals assorted debris, but no obvious clues.
GM POST
@DaakSyde @William_George @MalevolentPixy @strokeybeard @Macro
“Not who, them. Those fucking heathens north of Newmarket. We should return the favour, if you ask me. Burn the bastards out”.
Thwip
“Tere’s an entire gang off arsonists operatingk oot off tere?!”
Thwip maintains an iron wall of helpful misinterpretation in the hope that the ridiculousness will bounce off of him loudly enough for the man to hear it.
GM POST
@DaakSyde @William_George @MalevolentPixy @strokeybeard @Macro
Eoin steps in.
“Could you point us at a decent enchanter? And an alchemist?”
“Ah, w-well. We have six left. Each is unique. One is an unusual halberd, one is an exceptionally elaborate dagger, the rest are prime examples of different varieties of swords.”
“Aye. As you say, we are just shaking off the dust of our journey. May we contact you again once we are settled in? I canna say yet how long we may be here, but we may find ourselves looking for work, and ye may find yourself looking for workers, or know someone who is.”