Chapter I: And So It Begins

With Tarathel off to the Temple of the Seldarine and Eldoran headed to check out the Curiosity Shop and Milo himself, things look like they're getting off to a pretty good start.

It's still early evening in Westgate, and the evening commerce is beginning to pick up. Shops are still open for a few hours yet, but with the day laborers off work, the taverns and nightspots of the city are starting to get busy.

Hopefully, by the end of this little excursion, the fledgling adventurers will have paying work and a decent idea of their employer.

Tarathel

For his part, Tarathel was off to do just as he said -- visit the temple, which he privately admitted he probably ought to have done before now. Still, opportunity would not have waited, whereas the temple was not going anywhere. Corellon, he believed, would not be terribly angry.

The temple is fairly easy to find, though navigating the labyrinth of the city takes time. Unless you find a faster means of transportation, walking to the Temple of the Seldarine will take about an hour.

Tarathel

Tarathel walks. Aside from being iffy on human customs for acquiring transport, the truth was that he had little money left to his name (by his standards).

He also keeps an eye out for other places of note as he travels.

As Eldoran said he was going to, he made his way through the familiar streets towards Milo's Curiosity Shop. Any of the others are, of course, welcome to accompany him.

As with Tarathel, Eldoran has quite a walk ahead of him unless he secures other means of transportation. His knowledge of his hometown will shave his time a little, but he's still looking at at least half an hour before he makes it to the Curiosity Shop.

Talon kept to the streets, keeping out of sight as to not attract trouble. He moved from rooftops to alleyways as he waited on news from the group.

He wasn't keen on going to visit the merchants, or the temples for that matter. He just wasn't a people person, his life had been in the wilds and even though this was a city, he was more comfortable in the outside than inside a building.

He still made sure to keep himself covered with his armor, even if his frame and noticeable features clearly designated as one from his kin, half- or not.

((GJ, me, I managed to ad-block the reply button for a bit there))

Naw, walking is no big deal. A half hour walk through city streets? That's basically a stroll, and paying for a cart ride or something is not an expense he wants right before an adventure. He might need to get some special equipment before the day is through, so he doesn't want to waste money on comfort.

He'll hitch a ride here and there if he can, though, hopping on the back of wagons if he can get away with it, and encouraging his companion to do the same.

The group arrives at the Curiosity Shop about half an hour before Tarathel will make it to the temple, so we'll cover that group first...

As you walk down Inkeeper Street you come to a small, two-story Tudor, wedged tightly between two private residences that can only be the fabled Curiosity Shop. There’s no sign out front, instead a giant question mark is dramatically scrawled into the door. The frame itself is painted with kitsch little sayings about curiosity, and the embroidered mat on the stoop exclaims, Enter To Delight Your Senses! The building doesn’t have real windows, instead, two large amateurish murals are painted on the façade. Both depict massive glass curio cases filled with the types of strange charms and baubles one might expect to find inside.

Now for Tarathel!

The Temple of the Seldarine dominates the Square of Eleven Prayers in the Temple District. The temple grounds are perfectly manicured parklands covered with evergreen and birch trees. The main building of the temple is a huge, multistory cathedral topped with a shining silvery dome. A respectable number of elves mill about the park, enjoying the greenery, while a few priests of the Seldarine tend to the plants.

Zazi

Zazi had chosen to follow Eldoran, having no reason or desire to visit Tarathel's temple. Once she got a good look at the Curiousity Shop, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Well, it certainly looked... eccentric, she supposed, but she couldn't help but like it.

"Your Milo friend has good style," she told Eldoran with a grin as she stepped onto the welcome mat. "All this," she gestures to the building, "certainly piques my curiousity." Hee hee.

... Ahem. Without any further ado, she reached to open the door.

The door opens into a small room cramped with all sorts of outlandish junk. You’re immediately assaulted by the scents of incense, mildew, rust, and oils. Directly across from the door, occupying the center of the room is a long, slender, J-shaped glass display case. Padding lightly across the glass countertop is a live miniature tabby cat that looks small enough to fit into the palm of your hand. Behind the display case, the walls are completely buried by towers of crooked shelves and mixed cabinets brimming with small and peculiar knick-knacks, ugly fetishes, and other oddities. To your left are two large casks and to your right is a strange suit of green enameled plate armor, propped onto a display stand and posed as if it means to embrace the next individual to approach it.

Ski


As Ski is hit by the smell she steps back with a apprehensive look on her face. "I think I will stay out here, that place looks too much like a witches hut."

Eldoran was feeling the same way, and chuckled at Zazi at her comment. "Yeah, the same for me." He wouldn't say that Milo was his friend, he only knew him by reputation, but he suspected she was just kidding. As she opened the door, he paused and wrinkled his nose, then glanced back at Ski.

"We probably don't need to descend on him in a huge group, anyway. Meet you back here in a minute?"

Ski


Nodding Ski says, "I'm not going anywhere, I don't like this big of a place so I will wait here."

Tarathel

Interesting. The temple had a much more... controlled sense about it than he was used to, back home. Not bad, necessarily, but different.

Not desiring to make more stir than necessary, Tarathel contented himself with locating a novitiate to inform of his presence. He ought to present himself to someone, he figured.

Talon

Talon took a moment after the group went in and decided to wait outside as well. He took his place against the wall of the shop and nodded at the others who left, and the one who stayed before turning his attention to the streets once more.

The busy life of a city had never been something that appealed to him but getting jobs in the wild wasn't all too easy.

~Temple of the Seldarine

Tarathel finds a novitiate, dressed in pale yellow robes, tending to one of the multitudinous flower gardens. He is a relatively young high elf, and when Tarathel approaches he looks up from his duties with a small smile.

"Greetings, brother. How may I assist you?"

Giving Ski and Talon a nod and a smile, Eldoran heads into the shop and begins inspecting the wares with, well, curiosity, as he searches for someone who might possibly be Milo.

Zazi

By the time Eldoran entered the shop, Zazi had already begun investigating the little kitty with utmost interest. To be entirely honest: yes, she found it absolutely adorable, but she had enough restraint not to "b'awww" aloud. That restraint was also coming in handy resisting to reach out and attempt to pet the tiny thing. Instead, she offered the cat a finger to sniff.

~Curiosity Shop

The little cat sniffs Zazi's finger with vague disinterest before padding over to and laying inside what appears to be an ashtray composed entirely of scrimshawed mouse bones. A moment later a round, scruffy head pops over the edge of the counter, almost entirely covered with some strange mask-like device that looks like a combination of an archaic phoropter and half-a-dozen other strange implements.

"Eh? Whatchawant?"

"Woah!" Eldoran jumps back initially in surprise when the small man suddenly appears. He quickly recovers, however, and takes a nervous step towards the counter again. "Ah...Mr. Milo, I presume?"

The man adjusts a lens and angles it in Eldoran's direction. "Yeah, that's me. So what ken I do for ya? Looking for anything in particular? Perhaps..." He digs around in the cabinet for a moment before procuring what looks very much like a piece of very old trail jerky. "A genuine Sidhe mummy, imported directly from a secret tomb in Mala Na'Un?" He digs around a bit more before producing what appears to be a preserved tongue affixed to the end of an intricately carved stick. "Or mebbe an authentic Ankoran Shad'va blessing rod,used by generations of Ankoran witch doctors before arriving in this very shop in the pack of an intrepid adventurer?"

Zazi

If she said she didn't jump when Milo suddenly appeared, she'd be lying. Zazi blinked owlishly as the shopkeeper offered item after item. By the time he paused (be it for breath or for answer), she had regathered herself enough to be able to answer the strange man. "None of the above, I'm afraid. Actually, we were wondering if you might possibly have a new item you're willing to hire an adventuring party to go retrieve."

Milo adjusted a couple of knobs, bringing two saucer-sized lenses down to bring his eyes into massively magnified focus. "...Well, that really depends. I tend to pawn items for adventurers rather than just send them out myself, but there are a few choice exceptions..."

He skitters away for a moment before returning with a large, thickly bound book nearly as large as he is. He hefts it over his round belly and thunks it down on the counter with a puff of dust. "Lessee what we've got here..."

His beady eyes flash across the pages for a minute or two before he pauses, suddenly seeming to remember your existence, his eyes screwing up to meet yours. "This may take a bit, go have a look around." One of his eyes, seeming to be moving of its own volition, settled on Eldoran. "Mebbe you could buy the pretty lady a souvenir."