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[TCM]

"I come from a far away land."

[Harry Baldman]

Turn 77 - Hunting For The Poor

Gronok thanks the helpful man and walks off to look for some silly poor people. He smells the air carefully, taking the direction of the wind into careful account. He finds that there is, in fact, a slight aroma of destitution in the air. It carries with it a tinge of godlessness and more than a hint of sufficient desperation for his purposes. Nose in the air and eyes on the streets, Gronok follows the scent westward, eventually reaching his intended destination.

He finds himself in a rather dank hole of a residential area, a place filled with rather ancient and dilapidated buildings that loom ominously over the elderly prophet. However, luckily for him, the oppressive look of the area abates mildly - there appears to be a rather large pyre burning in a rather tiny square, shining like a bright beacon and filling the area with warm light. There appear to be gray-robed people grouped around the pyre, humming some sort of melody in unison, their hands joined together.

* * * * *

Phiali walks up the hill once again, going inside the stone shed. Sadly for him, Azha is there. Hm. Better make smalltalk.

"So, rather unseasonable weather lately, eh?"

"I wouldn't know."

"It's usually quite a bit rainier, actually. Or so I would think, anyway. Makes sense, yes?"

"I suppose."

"Oh yes, certainly. So, what have you been doing lately?"

"Guarding this tomb, same as always."

"Really? Well, I- oh, look at the time. Gotta go."

Phiali quickly leaves the shed, then is about to hide in a nearby bush and await nightfall, but then realizes that it's kind of night already. And that Azha's still in there. Hm.

* * * * *

Shashari mumbles to herself about these weird traps. What's up with this place? That's the second tripwire she's tripped over, and this one hasn't done anything, either. Oh well. Better continue onward.

However, she stops again, noticing something amiss. This time, it's not a tripwire. Rather, the floor looks a bit suspicious to her. Closer examination reveals that it isn't a conventional floor at all. Rather, it's a rather flimsy wireframe made of... uhm... animal bones, she guesses? And covered with animal skins, too, yeesh. Poking it with her finger, she finds that there may very well be nothing underneath it. A pit trap. How interesting.

* * * * *

Lars guesses he's essentially won this - now for the wrap-up, he supposes. He binds the priest, utilizing any available materials, primarily torn-off fragments of the guy's own robe, then drags him out over to the lobby, then out on the steps. Enlisting some aid from his fellows, he starts building a pyre.

However, he finds that there is a slight lack of immediately-available materials for such a thing, given the rather burned state of the lobby. That is, unless you count wooden buildings as fuel. Plus, there's no real crowd outside, just his current associates that have been following him since he split from the main group. Guess the rest are still inside.

* * * * *

Elizas gives a short, but accurate description of his own origin to the women.

"I come from a far away land."

"One can guess as much from your appearance, good sir."

"It is hard to miss."

"But your history, though I am curious about it at any rate, ultimately matters less than your musical ability. Perhaps you'd like to play a song for us rather than the empty streets?"

Spoiler: MP Tracker (click to show/hide)

Gronok: 3 MP
Phiali: 1 MP
Shashari: 5 MP
Lars: 4 MP
Elizas: 3 MP

[GreatWyrmGold]

Give up, move on to the next settlement.

[TCM]

"I'd love to, as long as it does not conflict with my contract.

Go with the group if I still have time left to go to work afterwards.

[IronyOwl]

Shashari mused on the trapdoor. Maybe the tripwire primed the traps ahead? That might make sense.

...didn't explain how she was going to deal with this now that they'd been primed, though. Maybe they deactivated after a time?

Or maybe the tripwires triggered traps that were already expended, so only the pits were left...

Or maybe the tripwires- wait, she could test that one.

Examine pit trap more carefully. See if it has a hinge or similar, or if it'd designed to just collapse.

If it hinges, try pushing it down, then triggering the tripwire.

Otherwise just see if I can move past without walking on it.

[Xantalos]

Proceed forward to the fire ring thing. Observe.

[IronyOwl]

((Also, I can't be the only one who got interesting mental images at this title.))

[Harry Baldman]

"I'd love to, as long as it does not conflict with my contract.

"And what contract would that be, if I may ask?"

"Probably some sort of services-for-money arrangement, yes?"

[GreatWyrmGold]

((Also, I can't be the only one who got interesting mental images at this title.))

((Thankfully, no one is hunting the most dangerous game.))

[Harry Baldman]

Turn 78 - To Start Anew

Phiali realizes that he's had just about enough of this backwoods nonsense, with all the weird, uncooperative people, the completely worthless woods and the complete and utter lack of any loot. So he'll go somewhere else, then. Screw this.

He heads off in a vaguely northeastern direction, hoping that this will take him someplace that does not hate him for some reason. He walks for several days and rests for several nights (he is haunted by nightmares about the temple he left behind previously, but these abate afterwards, their place taken by dreams about food and fluffy animals, which Phiali takes as a good sign), not seeing a single soul, but on the fifth day, he observes something. There, in the distance! A village on a riverbank, a rather vibrant-looking place if he's ever seen one! Hooray! Civilization, finally!

He hopes this will be a brand new start for him, far away from all the terrible failure. As he approaches the village, he hears the bustle of everyday life emanate from it. Looks like they're having some kind of celebration.

* * * * *

Elizas explains the stipulations of his contract in a vague manner to the women.

"And what contract would that be, if I may ask?"

"Probably some sort of services-for-money arrangement, yes?"

"Best not to impose upon his daily bread."

"Hm... would you happen to be a performer by contract? And if you are, would you mind if we followed you to where you work?"

* * * * *

Shashari carefully examines the pit trap for any available hinges. She observes none - this really does seem to be a covering of animal parts placed over what may be a pit. A few pokes on the surface seem to confirm this hypothesis, though whether the hole is three hundred or only three meters deep, she can't say. The covering is as wide as the hallway, and if Shashari had to go out on a limb, she'd say she could jump it if she had a running start. At least, as far as she can tell.

* * * * *

Gronok edges toward the pyre and the singing circle. Their activities become a little clearer as a result - they seem to be praying musically, and to Kezilam, no less. How interesting.

What's also interesting is that the pyre smells simply awful - something has been added to it, Gronok thinks. He can't quite put a finger on what it is, though. The people don't pay him any mind, and seem to be in almost a trance-like state.

Spoiler: MP Tracker (click to show/hide)

Phiali: 1 MP
Elizas: 3 MP
Shashari: 5 MP
Gronok: 3 MP
Lars: 4 MP

[IronyOwl]

Shashari gulped. Well, Ash'Mah was with her, right?

Jump the pit.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Enter village. Ask what they're celebrating.

[TCM]

"If I had to be described as such, yes, I am a contract performer. Follow me to my house of music, though be warned, the vicinity is not for those who are prudish."

Escort the group of people to the Brothel were I play at.

[Harry Baldman]

Turn 79 - Highly Questionable Company

Shashari gulps as she regards the possible pit in front of her. She supposes she'll have to bravely leap over it, then. After all, Ash'Mah should be looking after her, so it can't be too dangerous, can it? She psyches herself up, then tries the jump.

[Jump roll: 6-->1]

She takes several steps back, stopping at the tripwire, then runs toward the pit, leaping right over it in a single magnificent leap. In fact, she flies over it easily, landing in a graceful roll and getting up, resisting the urge to strike a pose. She takes a moment to bask in her victory.

This, however, proves to be a rather poor idea, as something immediately tightens around her feet - rope, from the looks of it - and she is immediately pulled upwards feet-first.

[Agility roll: 5]

Realizing that her face is rapidly approaching the ground once again, she successfully shields herself from notable harm by catching herself. She is still, however, pulled up by her feet and hung upside down from the ceiling in short order. She finds this rather displeasing and disorienting, not to mention slightly degrading. Being caught like an animal in this sort of trap, how abominable.

* * * * *

Phiali, guessing that there's no reason for him to proceed cautiously or anything, considering that the people are celebrating, walks over to the village. Closer inspection reveals that there are indeed festivities in progress - people wearing rather unnerving white masks and gray robes seem to be dancing in the streets and playing music, telling jokes and engaging in all kinds of harmless merriment. And in the center of the village, there appears to be a rather large pyre burning, sending up large quantities of smoke up into the sky.

Hm. Phiali walks up to a juggling woman and tries to ask her a question.

"Excuse me, but what are you celebrating?"

The woman doesn't stop her performance, answering Phiali rather laconically.

"Burning Day, stranger. Wonderful celebration!"

Well, that answers all of his questions, certainly.

* * * * *

Elizas decides to elaborate on his occupation to the women.

"If I had to be described as such, yes, I am a contract performer. Follow me to my house of music, though be warned, the vicinity is not for those who are prudish."

"One gets used to dens of iniquity in this town, and I doubt we are in a great deal of danger, as we have wandered far and wide already."

"A sentiment I can certainly echo - while we aren't women of loose moral fiber, it certainly cannot hurt to be tempted once in a while, yes?"

"Erm... what? We're going to some... seedy establishment? Why must we, please?"

"To listen to rather interesting music, dear sister. After all, this man can hardly help it if the setting for his trade lends itself to depravity."

The girl reluctantly agrees, and the four women walk along with Elizas to the brothel, which, admittedly, isn't the worst in town to take a woman to. He walks in, and the women follow right after. The main room, rather full of men and their respective escorts, goes a little quiet as they notice the new arrivals. As the women take their seats, Elizas is pulled aside by one of the guards, who whispers to him.

"Did you bring them here?" he asks, pointing at the table where the gray-robed women now find themselves, one of them currently explaining to a scantily-clad woman nearby that they'll be having only water tonight. The scantily-clad woman looks a tad intimidated, although the arrivals seem genuinely friendly toward her.

Spoiler: MP Tracker (click to show/hide)

Shashari: 5 MP
Phiali: 1 MP
Elizas: 3 MP
Gronok: 3 MP
Lars: 4 MP

[Xantalos]

((DAMMIT I DID THE IRONYOWL CYCLE))

Go forward and tap a singer on the shoulder.