Solo Behind the Majestic II (Job)

[Kynier]

Timestamp: 45th of Spring 518 AV

Kynier left a little early that morning to go to the Majestic. Walking through the streets he wondered what sort of task he would receive today. He really hoped that it have some degree of sanity. If it was anything like having to document the patterns and numbers of skull-crows in the Gallows then he'd consider falsifying his report. Working for Doler wasn't always so terrible. Kynier was gaining some insights on how to gain intelligence discreetly. Also how to identify odd behavior, By Sunberth standards at least.

Kynier stopped at a shop to acquire a broom. His plan was to do some cleaning inside the Majestic before talking to Doler. As he drew near the warehouse he stopped. The filth do serve a purpose. The "shop" was difficult to find and not what you would call active. Kynier realized it would only raise suspicion if an abandoned shop was clean. Resigning to allow it's condition to endure with a sigh, Kynier made his way northeast to Stumble Alley.

Kynier stepped inside and ignored the Brat that seemed to always be there. He walked to the secret shelf and banged against the wood. Knock knock... Knock... Knock knock knock. Just as he'd been instructed. Then he stepped way to the other side of the room. The crazed wizard always shyed away when he approached. So Kynier gave him a wide berth. Leaning against the opposite wall he waited for Doler. Several chimes passed in silence. Occasionally interrupted by the Brat scratching against the wood. Kynier didn't take his gaze off the creature. Last thing he wanted was to be bitten with disease. After a long wait the secret passage finally opened.

Doler stuck his head out. HIs hair a tussled mess and the skin under his eyes hung loose and dark. "Late again? I've been waiting for bells!" Kynier rolled his eyes a little. It was going to be a rough one, he could already tell. "I need a report of all the wagons that visit The Quay House." Before Kynier could say anything the shelves had closed. Kynier knew where the Quay was, he lived near it, though he had never gone through the gatehouse. Though it sounded like he was going to become very familiar with it, and very quickly.

Before heading to the Quay to get some apples and chestnuts to eat as he performed his task. While he was at it he got some sheets of parchment and a vial of ink for record purposes. After getting a pound of each he made his way southeast for the gatehouse. After cutting through Baroque Bay he could see the wall. It was the one wall of the whole city, which isolated the Quay from the rest of the citizens. Though it was only about ten feet in height the quality of the stone masonry was better than the rest of the city.

As Kynier walked along the perimeter he felt unease. He never heard much of the Quay before now, but being here made it feel like it was a separate entity from Sunberth. The gatehouse itself looked like something that should've been part of a castle. The large iron portcullis was open with sharp points looming overhead. As Kynier stepped through a small gust of wind blew in his face, carrying the ocean's scent. The Quay itself was smaller than he expected. A single structure stood midway between the gate and the docks. The docks themselves were barren, though plenty of people were walking around.

Kynier noted that a few men were watching him shortly after he stepped through the gate. On his left he could see some tents had been set up. Trying to appear to have a fixed destination in mind, Kynier took a curving path the tents closer to the docks. He settled himself outside of a tent near the edge that gave him a view the building. Being the only one he assumed it was the "Quay House" that Doler spoke of. Kynier took out one of his sheets of parchment and ink.

Kynier opened the vial and willed his Djed into a liquid form. He placed a few drops of his res into the vial and stirred it around. Then he set it on the ground and began glyphing a simple fireball spell onto the scroll. Occassionally he took a few seconds to look up at the house in case he failed to hear a wagon approach. The cobblestone would help in making a wagon's arrival easy to hear, but he didn't want to miss anything.

[Kynier]

Kynier made slow careful strokes with the ink-res hybrid when forming the focus. Several times he had nearly burned down structures with his scrolls. Bourin kept telling him it was because he had a poorly constructed focus and barrier. Since he had nearly the whole day, he took his time to try and get it right. Carefully he made the rune of fire from the ancient tongue which would appear strange to the uneducated.

A clatter of hooves on stone announced the arrival of the first wagon. Kynier paused his work and tried to take a mental note of every detail. Several men hopped out of the wagon followed by people with their hands bound. They were led inside the Quay House. For several chimes nothing else happened. Until some men and women with swords and axes climbed into the wagon, followed by a teenager. The boy looked savaged with his bare chest, tattoos, and crude wooden mace with spikes. Kynier would guess that he was a drykas. Once the boy was in the wagon exited the Quay.

After a bell, Kynier had finished the barrier, and set a basic trigger word to his scroll. After giving it time for the medium to dry he carefully folded the paper until it could fit in his pocket. Then he stood up and took out an apple. He walked around the edge of the tents and looked out at the docks as he ate. But he wasn't really looking out at the docks but using his peripherals to look for the source of the unease he'd been feeling since he walked through the gate house.

A woman was leaning against the Quay house that had direct view of him once he had started to move. Kynier noted that the woman's attention was on nothing in particular. She did not seem to look at anyone inside the complex, except quick glances at him. Shyke. Kynier turned his head and noticed a man with a longsword, and diamond patterned padded armor making a slow circle around the tents. Like the woman, his eyes seemed to deliberately avoiding Kynier. I've been noticed.

Kynier continued to stand there looking out on the water as he thought. The waves crested and crashed against the pier rhythmically. If he were to move now they would act. But if he waited for a while before leaving... they would act once he was leaving. The complex was too small and only had one exit for a distraction to work. Somehow he would have to talk his way out with a misdirection. Bound prisoners. Probably slaves. Pretending to be a buyer may work. No. He didn't have the apparent grandeur to feign that.

What if he was a scout? For a master that was in need of a slave. They would ask why he didn't just go to the market for one. Kynier took the last bite of his apple, having nothing but the core left. He chucked it into the water and watched it disappear beneath the surface. Maybe his "master" had very particular tastes, and wanted advanced notice on what was going to market.

"That will only work if they're imbeciles."

If it didn't work, then violence would be his only option. His ruse would at least get him closer to the gatehouse. Kynier decided to put it to the test. With the woman at the edge of sight he moved for the exit. Kynier kept his pace slow as if he were taking a relaxing walk. The woman detached herself from her post and nodded to someone. Kynier felt his heart begin to race. Pretending to not notice he made his way straight for gatehouse. When he was just halfway there someone grasped the upper sleeve of his arm.

"Hold on a sec, lad," a gruff voice said. Kynier forced his eyes to be wider than normal as he turned around. The woman and man both standing before him. "You're not someone that's permitted to be here." Without pause the woman starting contributing to the interrogation.
"So what've you been doing here all mornin'?" Kynier thought about his plan and tried to get into character.

"You're right," he said to the man. "I was told to come here and keep an eye out." He said. The two guards gave each other a look. Kynier could tell he had set them both a little off balance with the partial truth by their expressions. The woman recovered first.

"Keeping an eye out for what exactly?" Kynier leaned in just a little and they both subconsciously did the same. He spoke with a lower tone.
"My master needs a new slave for his... desires, shall we say. But he doesn't like anything that's on the market right now. So he told me to come here to look for anything of his... particular interest."

The man matched Kynier's volume, "What particular interest?" Kynier curled his upper lip a little to feign discuss and shifted his eyes away.
"Teenage boys." The woman scoffed in disgust. "Yeah. Although," Kynier raised his brow as though he just had a realization. "I just thought of something that could be mutually beneficial." Both of them took a step forward. Citizens of Sunberth seemed to have an extra sense for knowing when money was going to be offered. Kynier took out two gold mizzas and held them up, pinched between his fingers and thumb. "If that sort of... merchandise comes in. A note could be left for Kynier at No Man's Land Tavern. And I wouldn't have to waste several days here."

Kynier held his breath as he eyed the two guards. They were both thinking it over. "It be nice to let Vino know about a sure sale. Could get a bonus." Kynier gave him a mizza, and the man chuckled. The woman was looking hard at Kynier. He could see the struggle behind her eyes about it. Very slowly he pulled the remaining mizza closer to his pocket with raised eyebrows. Her eyes followed it almost all the way to his pocket before she spoke.
"Alright. Alright!" she whispered loudly, holding her hand out for the coin. Kynier gave a beaming smile when he handed over the coin.

"Excellent. And thank you both," he said taking two steps backwards before turning around. He sustained the fake smile until he was out the gatehouse. Then took several deep breaths and noted that his hands were shaking a little. He honestly didn't care if they just "swindled" him out of his money and never left a note at the tavern. Kynier was just happy to have gotten out.

"You should have gambled for a fortune with that luck, instead of wasting it there. How do you keep getting surrounded by stupidity?"

"The sight of gold makes a person dumber," he whispered to himself. "Besides, I just made a gamble, and won."

[Kynier]

Having managed to escape the Quay Kynier retreated into the Slums a little. Taking the road most directly in front of the gatehouse until it was nearly out of sight. Kynier sat down at the corner of an alley facing the entrance to the Quay. Unless a boat came in, which seemed doubtful since there were no boats at all docked, he would have line of sight of all wagons getting to the Quay House.

Now Kynier had to be more attentive and couldn't rely as much on hearing. One thing that he learned quickly was how easily his mind could begin to wander. For the first bell he attempted to keep occupied by county the number of people that he saw crossing his field of view. Nine, before the next bell passed. Kynier sighed and thumped his head gently against the building behind him. This is going to be a long day.

Kynier called upon his djed from deep within. With his eyes still open he tried to quell any other thoughts. He felt a small surge through his body as the djed came. Willing it into a gaseous state to be cast over the ground at his side. His focus was on covering as much of the ground as he could. The gaseous res slowly spread into a thin haze. Kynier began to weave it into a shield to block light. After many chimes he released the djed with a deep sigh.

The ground next to him appeared black with a few patches of heavily shaded ground. It had been stretched too thin, and still wasn't very large. Kynier grunted and turned his attention back to the Quay. There must be another way of observing than sitting here. Kynier looked up at the structures in the nearby vicinity. They were all single story buildings, barely taller than the perimeter wall. Kynier wished that there had been an elevated view point available.

He rolled up his sleeve to examine his bandage. Small traces of blood were beginning to seep through it. Kynier thought about taking it to the doctor, but then immediately shrugged it off as a bad idea. Kelski had warned him about the doctor, another voice to many whispers that he had heard. How has a city like this managed to stay functioning when people fear receiving necessary services?

Another wagon approached the gatehouse. The back flaps were down hindering any view of its contents. It was now a little past the fourteenth bell of the day. The shield he had cast had already worn away. Kynier looked at his hand in boredom, then had a thought. Doler was almost always gleaming with magic. As though he were... covered in a shield. Kynier closed his eyes and worked to drive all thoughts from his mind. Then he drew upon his djed to extrude liquid res through the skin of his right hand. Kynier's will worked on it to diminish light like he had with the last shield. It took longer than before, and his mind began to hurt, derailing his concentration. Trying to keep a grasp on his djed made it seem to slip away even faster.

Once the pain became too much he stopped. His hand had not changed apart from being coated with res. It was a technique beyond his current ability, if the searing headache wasn't enough of an indicator. Kynier cupped his brow with a hand. The day seemed to have gotten brighter, which began to hurt his eyes.

[Kynier]

The day passed by slowly. Though Kynier had the opportunity to continue performing small discreet spells for practice his piercing headache behind his eyes had not lessened. The desire to sleep was settling in, combined with the low stimulation of his task, Kynier was struggling to keep his eyes open. Trying to stay awake he took out a handful of chestnuts and slowly ate them.

As Syna began to rest on the horizon a third wagon made its approach. The rear flaps were open and Kynier squinted to see what was in the quickly vanishing wagon. It was full of people, and the savage looking boy from earlier. Then it was through the gatehouse and beyond sight. In the growing darkness Kynier stood up, feeling the need to move around. He walked towards the gatehouse then down a northbound alley next to the Quay wall. He considered ending the task when he noticed something on the wall. A small gray rose growing directly out of the stone.

Curiously he smelled the rose, only to be disappointed by a dull smell of mildew. Kynier wrapped his hand around it and tried to pull it out of the stone. To his surprise the petals were hard and the flower was firmly rooted to the mortar. Kynier looked around the wall more and could see several of the stone roses protruding from its surface. He walked around the perimeter looking for a series of roses that led to the top of the wall. If they were able to hold his weight Kynier could potentially find a good vantage point.

Eventually he found a vine that climbed most of the way up. Kynier reached up and grabbed a rose tightly. The petals dug into his skin uncomfortably, even after adjusting his grip. He placed a foot on a lower rose and braced himself for the possibility of it snapping. Kynier heaved his weight up, and the roses held. With a surprised chuckle he reached up for another rose. Though the Quay border was not very tall it did take a while to get to the top. Once Kynier tried to raise a leg before reaching up with his arm. But that effort had disbalanced him and caused him to drift away from the wall until his free hand frantically grasped a rose in reach and he pulled himself back in.

Once his head was over the top of the wall he tried to find two roses to comfortable stand upon. There weren't any evenly divided for his legspan, so he resorted to having one foot rest higher than the other. He rested his elbows and forearms across the surface of the wall as he gazed over the complex. He could easily see over the tents to the Quay house. Kynier dared to look over his shoulders to find his bearings. This location would be quite handy for further reconnaissance.

The climb had cut his hands due to the hard edges of the stone rose petals. Kynier flexed his fingers as he began his watch. The Quay seem to become more active in the night. Kynier never saw another wagon approach during Leth's reign, but people were coming and going from the Quay frequently. A few times Kynier thought he saw some men that clearly weren't human. Perhaps and Akalak, or a symestran. Kynier couldn't be sure. If he had some sort of telescope he could better see who was there.

Several bells into the night was taking its toll on Kynier. His legs were cramping. His hands ached, and his mind was hurting. Activity in the Quay was had been declining, so he called it a night.

The climb down had taken twice as long as the climb up. In the dark he couldn't see the roses too well. When he was halfway down his foot slipped off a rose and his grip failed him. He fell the remaining five feet but tried to absorb the impact with a roll. Keeping his knees slightly bent he shifted his weight forward to carry the momentum. Rolling over a shoulder he tried to stop but was moving too fast. After the first roll he fell on his front with a heavy grunt. He coughed as he tried to recover his breath.

Now that his whole body was sore in some way, Kynier walked back to the Majestic. He kept his distance away from anyone else he saw wandering the alleys at this time. They would be dangerous people in one form or another.

Kynier stepped into the filthy shop and dragged his feet over to the shelves. Knock knock... knock... knock knock knock. Kynier stepped away from the shelves waiting for Doler to appear. After a chime the crazed wizard stuck his head out.

"Oh. Finally finished your task? Well, out with it. How may entrances are there to the mines under the city?" Kynier blinked at him in dismay.
"I was spying on the Quay house!" he said indignantly. Doler appeared perplexed.
"What? Oh! Right, that's right. Well then, what you saw." Kynier sighed.
"Only three wagons ever came to the quay. No boats that I saw either. I managed to see what looked like a fresh catch of slaves from the first wagon. The other two I couldn't get a good vantage of. Though the activity in the Quay increased during the night. More people entering and leaving the Quay house in a bell than almost the entire length of Syna's light. That's it."

[Kynier]

Grades!

Skill Rewards

• Acrobatics +1
• Acting +1
• Climbing +1
• Detection +2
• Glyphing +2
• Intelligence +5
• Observation +5
• Planning +1
• Shielding +1
• Subterfuge +2

Lores Learned

• Location: The Quay
• The Quay: Appears to collect prisoners for slavery
• The Vino: Control the Quay
• Intelligence: Bribes help sell the character
• Stone Roses: Smell like mildew
• Stone Roses: Good for climbing
• Intelligence: The Quay Vantage point location

Penalties

• - 1/2 lb of chestnuts
• -2 gm