Dangerous Waters (Plot)

[Darastrix]

~I'd rather keep that as a last resort,~ Schuldig said. ~For Ragnar and Kamilla both, plain telepathy or talking may suffice; there's less room for interpretation. And failing that, well, Brad was able to actually talk to Etaf. Might try to see if Soahc has anything to say to one of his own Chosen. Ragnar's Etaf's, but this is pretty much Soahc's island.~

When their luggage was unloaded, Schuldig gave a snap of his fingers and flagged down a worker to have it loaded and sent to the inn he named.

[Kender Bard]

The worker swiftly took their things away and Harmony trailed behind, though she kept slowing to gawk. The island was so... Exotic! And hot. She tugged at her collar and watched a loosely clad woman walk by. ~I can see a lot of Delilah's style here. Some of it suddenly makes sense.~ A colorful bird flew overhead. She grinned and pointed it out. "Look, Lucien! This island is full of strange surprises. Will you be buying me something?"

She put her hands on her hips and smirked. ~I do mean that; if we get to go shopping again for our alibi, I won't complain.~

[Northen Light36]

Flame wanted to stop and close her eyes, tilting her face to the sun and just enjoying the heat as the sea sickness began to leave her. But she knew full well she'd be breaking character to do so, so she kept her head down and followed Schuldig and Harmony.

[Darastrix]

~We're shopping,~ he affirmed. ~I want some clothes better-suited to the climate myself.~

"Perhaps," Schuldig said aloud. "It's a pity we were abroad when the Emperor first set down here; we might have found belongings of the former queen available for purchase had we the chance to come sooner."

~Speaking of, let me know if you see anywhere with glass trinkets for sale. Delilah collected those here.~

[Kender Bard]

"Although I'm not all that certain about buying the second-hand castoffs of a backwater queen," Harmony sniffed.

The inn was a good one; the takeover had hurt business for a while, of course, but now they were flourishing again with the constant circulation of people from Morilanta and the other captured islands.

There was something a bit unnerving though; there was a young girl who studied them with an intense gaze from a corner. Abruptly, she got up and ran out.

Spy? Timble wondered.

[Darastrix]

"There is no pleasing you, is there?"

----

Schuldig hoped the girl was just a servant or slave, dashing off to see what sort of rooms were available for a group their size or to inform some business--a tailor, most likely--of the potential for customers. He suspected it would be something business-related, because a decent spy wouldn't be so obvious with their observations or departure. Still, it was best to be safe at that point, and he snaked his mind after the girl, gently and carefully, in case she happened to be a Mind herself.

[Kender Bard]

There was little need to be so cautious; the girl was young and extremely focused on her task. Two outsiders, a man and a woman. Four slaves. Two outsiders, a man and a woman. Four slaves. Two outsiders- I hope I get a treat. Probably not. I hate that mean man. I hope someone kills him. Maybe then a kind master will take me... or maybe I could be free! Her thoughts from there devolved into daydreams of going to Celentia somehow. Stealing a boat and sailing off to freedom.

[Darastrix]

~Just a slave to the inn,~ Schuldig sent to Timble. ~She's going to tell her master how many of us there are, so we should be seen to soon.~

As an afterthought, he nudged the girl's earlier thoughts of 'Two outsiders, a man and a woman. Four slaves.' a little closer to the forefront of her mind to help her remember when she actually got to her master.

[Kender Bard]

In short order, two slaves and someone who seemed to be better off in the world than them showed up. The two slaves stood like dark statues in the background while the considerably paler, more Morilantan looking individual approached Schuldig. "Welcome, good sir. You have the air of a mainlander to you; will you be wanting one of our fine rooms here? After such a long voyage, I imagine you'll want the finest room with the best amenities that our fine inn has to offer you."

[Darastrix]

No, Schuldig thought, rolling his eyes internally. I just came in here to see how many fucking times you can say 'fine' in your sales pitch.

Outwardly, he gave the man a pleased smile, as though glad to finally be treated as he should be. "Naturally," he agreed. "But we will require two rooms; I assume this won't be a problem?"

[Kender Bard]

"No, no not at all," he replied smoothly. "Now we have one emperor suite available. After that we have three master suites. The emperor suite comes with a few perks that the master suite does not. Mainly, it is the most customizable one. Anything you want or need we will bend over backwards to procur for you. That's not to say the master suite isn't comfortable, of course."

[Darastrix]

"I think a master suite will suffice for this trip," Schuldig said after a moment's consideration. "But I will consider the emperor suite when I'm traveling for pleasure more than business." Which, of course, translated to 'please us well this time, and we'll sink even more money here later.'

"Of course, we do wish to sample what pleasures Grandisle has to offer, regardless. There's been quite a bit of talk of the balls and social events one can attend here."

[Kender Bard]

The man gave a curt nod. "Yes, there is at least one ball every night. I'm told it's far less than tradition used to be, but honestly who would want more than that? Now, generally these events are on invitation only, but occasionally we are able to procure an invitation for a newly arrived guest... For the right price, of course."

[Darastrix]

"Of course," Schuldig echoed with a knowing smile. "We will wish to rest today and much of tomorrow, but if you find yourself in possession of an invitation for an event tomorrow evening or later, I'm sure we can come to a most agreeable arrangement."

They needed the time to get more climate-suitable formal clothing in any case. And he needed the time to seek out Ragnar.

[Kender Bard]

"Of course," the innkeeper agreed. After haggling a price with Schuldig--fortunately the man accepted Narutan currency and told him where he could exchange his money for silly Firegem shards if he wished--the two burly slaves helped move their possessions into the two inn rooms situated across from each other.