07.07d: Working Shark

The goings on of courts
User avatar
Joshua
Gibbering
Posts: 2987
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:59 pm

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Joshua »

Odin clearly thinks Krajk should recognize Trump but doesn't say anything to the lack of response.

Just as Krajk is about to hit the docks (And they are bursting with people out and about in the winter air), a lady comes hurrying towards him... She wears a simple blue, hooded robe, although the blue-green skin of her face and hands (which are webbed) reveal her to be from Rebma.

She will stop just before Krajk, bow and whisper, "Mi'Lord. I am Sareshia Lunaris*. I was appointed** to be your guide today. If you wish."
_______________
*: Read her backstory and decide if you know her or not. Also, if you like her or not.
**: Likely she either knows you or drew the short straw. Again, your choice.
Krajk
Needs a Guide
Posts: 100
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 1:10 am

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Krajk »

Krajk gives Sareshia an inscrutable look, clearly weighing his options. Finally he will say, "It has been implied to me that there might well be quarters existing for me in Rebma; I wish to... study them, if in fact there are. Things smack too much of coincidence right now and I do not trust such things."

((Even in his seeming slips of concealing his mistrust of anything Amber, he's still being coy and crafty. Let's go fishing with hints of suspicion and see who/what bites...))
User avatar
Joshua
Gibbering
Posts: 2987
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:59 pm

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Joshua »

Sare will nod. "Of course, Mi'Lord. Hopefully they will meet your needs. Would you like to go thorugh the air breather's route or the water route? Your quarters are half and half, with access from both areas."

She will smile a little... Oddly relieved by your actions. "I think Dworkin and Quin set it up, but you'd have to ask them."
Krajk
Needs a Guide
Posts: 100
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 1:10 am

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Krajk »

((I really meant to reply sooner too. Then I seem to have lost track of a few days, one by one.))

Krajk will shrug indifferently. "Whichever works best for you, I'll end up examining both eventually." After a moment he'll add, "And you can drop the 'm'lord' fluff. If you're afflicted by the same delusion that fool who tried to kill me was, then at least use 'sir' instead; at least then I can pretend it's just a silly military courtesy, even if I don't even fool myself."

((I actually had more I intended to say, but if she picks the aquatic route it'd have to wait (bit more complex than he can easily communicate as a shark) and while I was pondering where to break things off Krajk got the bit between his teeth.))
User avatar
Joshua
Gibbering
Posts: 2987
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:59 pm

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Joshua »

"As you wish, sir, but be aware that others might take such a request as a declaration. Are you intending to take over the Rebma military?" She will ask. "Of course, it would be your right." She will observe, before leading you through the water a short swim to your quarters. "But, you had best actually decide one way or the other before you tell someone you claim a title."

The quarters are disturbingly familiar. Like, all the comforts of home, mixed with a few idealized versions of furniture and decorations drawn from someone with insanely high psyche using pattern walking to find "Exactly what Krajk would want in his room". Since it looks like you had the furniture and decorations custom made to your specifications, what does it look like?
Krajk
Needs a Guide
Posts: 100
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 1:10 am

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Krajk »

If Krajk's alternate form had been serpentine or feline the sound that slips free for a moment before he regains control of himself would have been described as a hiss. Given the actual source, it somehow manages to come across as a whispering sort of growl. "If I make that sort of claim or declaration, you'll know. And if I make some sort of blatantly foolish decision like that and there isn't either an imminent threat of the world ending or one hell of a payment involved it's probably an impostor and a good distraction I wouldn't mind right about now."

((I will edit in/post a description of quarters tomorrow (hopefully), but wanted to post *something* to progress the thread further even if I'm not entirely happy with it. Wanting to post but not having anything that really feels worth posting is obnoxious. Also, as Wyvern pointed out, Sareshia has a respectable psyche - it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to be able to read Krajk enough to have picked a slightly less threatening (to Krajk, at least) way of pointing out the potential ramifications of his statement. Perhaps something like, "As you wish, sir, but be aware that others might take such a request as..." or somesuch. Doesn't really change his verbal response, though it might ameliorate his long-term opinion of her, and wouldn't radically change what was said.))

*****

((This board needs a strike-through option. Edited-in description below, it still counts as "tomorrow" since I haven't gone to bed yet. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!))

In a word, Krajk's quarters are spartan. Not in the cultural sense, though there may be some similarities between the styling and whatever his home plane/shadow's Spartan analogue was, but in the overall aesthetics. The main room, into which both entrances arrive, is a bit like a well-designed but minimalistic corporate lounge; clean lines, furniture that is comfortable and clearly high quality, but no real *soul*. It is clearly a room designed for social activities hosted by someone who has little interest in such things. The air-breathers' entrance is an ordinary enough sort of door, and the water-breathers' entrance is at the bottom of of a decorative pool.

The next two rooms are to either side of the stubby hallway leading out the far end of the entrance room. To the one side is a small but well-stocked armory with at least a few weapons exotic enough Krajk will actually blink in surprise*; enough for an army so long as it's only a one-man army. To the other, down a short flight of stairs, is a modestly sized practice arena whose walls are extravagantly lined with mirrors. Although it is not immediately obvious, the arena can be flooded (without flooding the rest of the rooms, hence the stairs) deep enough for Krajk-as-shark, though quarters would still be rather cramped for any serious practicing then.

The sleeping quarters, at the end of the stubby hallway, are surprisingly small. Where others might have a bed there is instead something that looks to be somewhere between "thin mattress" and "horribly high quality bedroll". There is a chest for clothing and a couple armor stands along one side wall, one of the stands conveniently empty. Along the other side wall is a narrow (roughly one shark wide, with enough wiggle room for movement's sake) stream that has somehow been engineered to have a constant flow of water and just the right amount of wiggle to add a bit of water burbling sounds to the ambiance without drowning out any other noises. There is a harness set-up near the "upstream" end to allow someone to sleep in the water if they so wish, and the current conveniently allows for a shark to do so as well. One end of the stream (outside of immediate visibility of the sleeping quarters; the rooms are like beads on a string for defensive purposes) connects to the first room's pool by a concealed trapdoor and the other leads to open water behind a second concealed trapdoor.

(*This is a good thing, even if the whole affair makes Krajk want to do nothing more than run away as fast as he can.)
User avatar
Joshua
Gibbering
Posts: 2987
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:59 pm

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Joshua »

(OOC: edited previous post.)

"So, does it meet your needs?" She will ask. "We have several such shapechanger-quarters, although this is perhaps the nicest." She will take you through a small tour of the place.
Krajk
Needs a Guide
Posts: 100
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 1:10 am

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Krajk »

((Apologies. In no particular order I blame: Wyvern, patch 6.0 in WoW, the cats (I'm sure they were involved somehow), and the difficulty inherent in trying to convince Krajk to use 'subtlety'...))

Sourly Krajk will comment, "Too perfectly, it does." As he finishes touring the sleeping room, he absent-mindedly toys with a strange looking wooden club - it is comprised of a narrow flat loop of wood attached to a handle, like a flattened club with a hole cut in the middle, and lined with shark's teeth*. He stops, stares for a moment at the weapon, and then gestures with it. "Not many know of this sort of club - if they know of bladed clubs at all what few don't incorrectly think of a mace instead think of a macuahuitl... a stubby wooden pole lined on two sides with razor-sharp obsidian. Not a single weapon I have anything more than a passing familiarity with is missing..." Trailing off, he pauses for a moment before continuing. "I've seen royal and imperial armories with less varied collections before; how long did that take to piece together? The rest of this place I could see suiting any semiaquatic fighter, at least in theory, and furnishings would be simple enough if someone wasted the time to try and divine my tastes because for the most part as long as it's not overblown ornate junk with more form than function I typically don't care."

He ducks briefly back into the armory to place the strange club back in storage before Sareshia can get more than a word maybe two in response but steps back out just as quickly**. "Oh, and on a lighter note, does that siren... Kokytos, wasn't it? Does he get fancy, eerily customized housing too, or is he left with whatever he had before? I'm assuming he had something here, given the absurdity of being a patriot of a place you don't live in, unless it was a place you had lived in and could no longer for various reasons and given that the guards didn't jump him the moment he showed his face I'm presuming that isn't the case here."

(*This, approximately.)
(**Yes, he memorized the weapon layout that fast.)
User avatar
Joshua
Gibbering
Posts: 2987
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:59 pm

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Joshua »

(OOC: <khan> World of Warcraaaafffft!!!!!!!</khan> Seriously, I have had more people skip games, including in person games, because they couldn't stop playing that horrible time-waster. On their laptops, during game.)

Sareshia will think and look just a little worried. "I don't know how long this place took to setup. This city is strange. Sometimes rooms just appear and sometimes places shift slightly. For your other question, I don't have the authority to find out, but I know who we can ask." She will force a nervous smile. "The head siren will know where Kokytos lived before and there's a seneschal in charge of the royal part of the city who could point to you Kokytos' suite. The seneschal likely knows about the order to set your suite up. At least, it's her job to know."

If Krajk is ready, Sareshia will lead him to said seneschal's office.
Krajk
Needs a Guide
Posts: 100
Joined: Fri May 02, 2014 1:10 am

Re: 07.07d: Working Shark

Post by Krajk »

((In my defense, it was pre- and post-patch shenanigans, trying to get last-minute stuff done before it couldn't be done anymore and then checking out new content and un-breaking my UI. And I don't WoW during games, wouldn't even if my laptop wasn't a ginormous monster with a literal power brick. The fact that it is just makes that decision that much easier, sucker's *heavy*...))

((Also, I could have sworn there was more to reply to in your post, I must have misread things the first time 'round and spent what time I thought about this post overthinking... something, I'm not sure anymore. :lol: ))

Krajk flicks a faint smile before saying, "If you would... I don't think the fool will be foolish enough to try and jump me again, but if nothing else it would be useful to know which direction he would likely avoid coming from because it would be too obvious*." The wereshark quite clearly doesn't find the notion of being jumped by Kokytos particularly alarming; in fact, he seems almost whimsically amused by it.

(*Precisely which direction he's implying - the shortest route to the siren's quarters because it was the shortest route, or the other way down the hall because obviously you would avoid using the most obvious route - is unclear.)
Post Reply