Quest for the Traitors: Lowlands [Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

Theofilus was not amused. Not in the slightest. It was utterly disgusting here, he was with a psychopath-in-training, and he had no idea at all how it was possible for life to live in this area. He would have been more thankful of the morning sun if he could fly closer to it. But for safety's sake he had changed into his biped form when they were closer to the capital.

He eyed all the lowlanders that passed by, all of theme in miserable shape. The shanty town and the smell almost overpowered him. If he made it out of this quest alive he would be happy. He knew that now, he would be forever scarred by this experience. Never again would he be able to look at a lowlander without flinching.

The feline was very egger to to get this quest over and done with as well. Theofilus chose to ignore the events from last night. He simply told himself they were a dream. A very scary dream with a cat hovering over him.

"I have no room to argue, Feline. Let's continue." He shrugged.

[The Jenn]

The further into the city they walked, the more crowded things became. Rather than a barren expanse all around them, it turned into one closed-in, grimy street after another. Many more people were in evidence, going about their business or laying on the sides of the roads in various states of despair or injury. It seemed the Capital could afford to house beggars, or at least beggars could afford to choke the gutters and streets of the city. There were far more of them than there could ever be hand-outs in such a downtrodden and economically depressed place.

Several paws reached out in silent pleas, one or two making pained noises as the obviously well-to-do strangers passed. They weren't touched, but only just barely avoided the bandaged and bleeding bodies of several more populated areas.

There were shops in evidence, with one or two having very long lines. The people walking out held food clutched tightly in their mouths or paws, guarding it with glares and suspicious glances all around them. It was a precious commodity, as precious as any coin, and the weak were liable to lose it as quickly as they'd purchased it. Perhaps that was why the weak lined the streets, some too far gone to work. One chiroptae, a scrap of cloth wrapped tightly around sightless eyes, followed the pair with his large ears as they walked and thrust out a bowl hopefully. Nothing but dust lined its wooden surface. "Masters..." he rasped.

The largest road, the one they followed in from the city, led them to the only inn. It was marked in both the common tongue and the Lowland language. They could see it rising three stories from where they stood on the street, near the beggars.

[Spiderfly]

Pravus kept his head high, away from the stench that eminated from those around him. Disgusting. . . how many times had his brain thought that word since he first arrived here. Honestly, for the circumstances, not often enough. His kinked neck swayed as he moved, causing the smells to waft up his nose and wrinkle his brow.

As one of the paws reached up he stomped down on it hard, hissing at the owner of the overly bold appendage. . . The fur along his back began to rise but he squashed the urge to just scream and maul everything around him. Perhaps it was the close quarters, but this place which had formerly not bothered him overmuch was beginning to get under his skin.

As the bowl was raised towards him, only the name that was offered at him stayed his claws. "What. . . is it that you want?" His voice slithered dangerously through the air, a low rumbling hiss. He had noticed the inn but for now was quite content to take his anger out on the being before him.

[Spiderfly]

Kari, Jenn and Spiderfly all receive 3 tokens each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe. This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe. Congratulations, and keep up the good RP! Long RP POINTS WOOHOO

[Kari Muffin]

A few of Theofilus's feathers stood on end as he walked amongst the crowd. The smells and the sights of bandaged and broken people terrified him. He felt sorry for them, yes, but there was nothing he could do for them. If he gave them a bit of money they would probably be beaten senseless by others who were stronger. It was ultimately hopeless no matter what he did.

He scoffed at the feline. There was no need to lash out at them when they hadn't done anything wrong. No matter how he scolded Pravus, the stubborn feline would continue his tantrum. At least he didn't automatically bite the stranger who called out to them.

The Lowlander was blind. It sent a chill down the sparrow's spine. The man wasn't dangerous, or at least he wouldn't lash out. The sparrow couldn't help but feel sorry as the blind man produced a dusty bowl. "Calm down, Feline. He isn't about to cut you. He's just asking for our attention," Theofilus said. The sparrow looked at the man curiously. "Excuse my jumpy friend. Is there anything in particular you want, sir?"

It was a blind man for goodness sake.

[The Jenn]

The blind bat cringed back at the tone of Pravus's voice, expecting a kick or worse. He hadn't realized this was one of the dangerous ones, just heard the confident steps and thought it was one of the wealthier ones who occasionally deigned to walk the main road and toss a coin to the most pathetic or fawning of the beggars. That hiss, though, it held anger and a deep-seated loathing he would be hard-pressed to ignore. It was also unfamiliar and had the trace of an accent that certainly wasn't Lowland.

He hadn't heard many people talk with a trace of that accent. Just one.

When the other pair of footsteps spoke, the accent was different again, but it didn't match. "Just a few coins, master," he pleaded, tone moderated due to the presence of that Other One. He kept his body tucked, still waiting for a kick... or perhaps a swipe, as the stranger had said feline. "Perhaps a scrap of food. Nothing more. I wouldn't presume..."

A Two of Spades stood out on his chest amidst the filth, a lowly creature if ever there was one. His wing sails were tattered, obviously unsuitable for flight, though they may have been usable once.

[Kari Muffin]

He felt incredibly sorry for the man, but this could be a good opportunity to question someone. Theofilus stared at the man for one long moment, and decided that he should at least try to be kind. This man, even if he was blind, might be able to help. It occurred to the sparrow that Pravus was, in fact, a blessing in disguise as was the blind man. Thank the stars for all the books that he read.

The sparrow pulled out two coins and threw them in the bowl. Before the man could say anything he stated, "I'll give you more, and possibly clean drinking water from the Lakes if you can help me with some information."

He had no idea how the bat would react to his statement. He was not going to wait for protests from Pravus, or the man. He wanted to spend the smallest amount of time out here as possible, so he would get straight to the point. "I'm sure you can tell we have accents. Have you heard any close to my friend's before?"

It was possible, they were close to the inn. Blind people had been know to pick up amazing talents to compensate for their lack of sight. He only hoped this one--even if he was of a low rank--was skilled enough to at least pick up on such an idea.

[The Jenn]

The jingling of the coins in the bat's bowl was such a surprising noise he actually stopped breathing for a moment, as if fearing it would be taken away, before grasping at them with the double-claws of one wing and shoving them deep into the recesses of his filthy shroud. He felt them along the way and could have shouted for joy. That was Capital money right there, from the Capital, with the engravings of the Diamond crest. Or so his senses told him. The groove of the eye was hard to miss.

His attention snapped back up at the promise of more, and he could have salivated at the thought of clean... clean water. From the Lakes. No one could afford that here, not even the well-to-do citizenry, not unless they lived in some remote estate somewhere he didn't know about. Who the hell were these foreigners?!

And just like that, a memory hit him, and he froze yet again. His reactions would be an unusual thing to watch for people not used to the blindfolded drama. His face was extremely malleable, a benefit when he was trying to garner sympathy for his admittedly pitiable situation.

"I... I don't know," he said in a voice trembling with some emotion that couldn't quite be placed. "I may have. I don't... know 'em. Just heard 'em. Is that enough for a sip of water?"

[Kari Muffin]

The sparrow smiled. Oh, it was a good thing he had read all of those novels. It was also a good thing that no one could refuse such good water in a place like this. Sometimes fate was a good thing.

He pulled his canteen out of his bag. It had been emptied earlier that morning, and thankfully he had been graced with the ring of Spades. He smiled at the thought of the very useful ability as he concentrated on using the ring.

Water quickly filled the canteen. It overflowed slightly, sloshing a bit of water on the ground. He still hadn't quite grasped the concept of summoning specific amounts from thin air. Hopefully everyone would have ignored that as long as Pravus was around. It was the finest quality water--there was no way the bat could doubt the sparrow's intentions now.

The sparrow tipped a small amount of water into the bat's bowl. It was just enough to make him want more or so Theofilus hoped. "I'll fill your bowl to the brim with water if you give me just a bit more information. I need to know what they were saying or where they were going."

Pravus could object all he wanted. This was another fantastic lead. It might just lead them in a different direction from the original lead. Then they would have a possible second trial explaining the other Highlander in the Lowlands.

[Spiderfly]

Pravus sneered and again, as with the last piece of trash they had spoken with, stepped back and let the avian handle it. It was not his want to be nice in the least, but as long as he didn't have to do it, and it worked, then he would let the bird continue. Though, he very adamantly did not approve. Such things were beneath him, and the bird.

As the small bit of water sloshed he scuffed some dirt over it absently, glaring around at the press of filth around them. If anyone wanted a fight they'd be in for a bad one. Pravus, however, really did not want to /touch/ any of them.

"Hide that canteen better bird." He hissed lowly as he kept watch. An itch between his shoulders had set him on edge, and he really didn't want an excuse for another Card to bother them. At least, however, they were getting information. Soon this whole thing would be over and they'd be back in the palace. He would have to bath for weeks before he could face his Queen.