OOC: Yes. You may detect thoughts of an NPC only if you actively write so beforehand (eg. it's not an 'automatic' function).
The man looks surprised, but offers a hand, gesturing for you to a seat across from him (he's alone by himself at a circular table for 4).
I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine..Mr...?
Remembering that Incubi supposedly have an innate ability to detect the thoughts of others, Samael decides that now would be a useful time to attempt it. He pulls out the chair and seats himself. "Brown." He says in reply to the man's query.
The man is intrigued, but very, very suspicious. He's got a stiletto in his glove operated by a button mechanism that he's ready to pull up at any second should you turn out to be more than you seem.
Well met, the name's Oily Dorl. What can I do you for?
Going to bed, just to let you know, merry Christmas eve!
Samael gets right down to business, it's best not to spend any more time speaking with these types than necessary. He keeps one hand on his bag of holding at all times. "Well, let's just say, that I'm looking for someone, and I've got no idea where to find him, except that he's somewhere in Sigil. His name is Zakarius, and I've got reason to think he's a Sinker. That's just about all I know for sure. I've got a limited time to meet with him."
He looks thoughtfully down at the moment - reading his thoughts, you'll know that he's doing this just for show. He already knows what to do.
Person-finder? I can do that... I'll need any other information that you may have, appearance other possible affiliation, demeanor..and so on. I'll also need 50% up front...
He speaks the next words slowly and carefully
Before I decide how much 50% is, you're going to have to tell me how limited your time is.
Samael frowns slightly, This cross trader seems like far more trouble than he's worth. "Hm, I was hoping you'd be open to alternative forms of payment. I'm currently rather strapped for Jink, see. If not, I can always come back to you when I've got some."
Fine - I'm usually here - depending on how quickly you need the info, you can pay me with 30-50 mercs* as half down payment - or some other item of an equivalent value..
If you don't have the jink, I can hold something valuable of yours instead of having a down payment, and you can pay me when you have the money in exchange for your item back.
It's clear he's done countless deals like this before, also 30-50 mercs, or mercurium* pieces are equivalent to 300-500 gold pieces. Undoubtedly he offers his price in mercs because 30-50 sounds a lot less than 300-500.
"I'll have to come back when I get some jink." He nods to Dorl and gets up to leave. Winking at the tiefling barkeep before heading out. Well this is the Hive. Maybe I should find some Primes to bob. Better yet I could wait for someone else to try to bob em and take advantage of the conflict... Just need to find some Primes. He looks around and starts walking, keeping an eye out for anyone who looks like they're particularly clueless, or about to get themselves into trouble.
OOC: If there's a tavern around here that's known for having newly arrived primes as customers, that's also a good place to look.
Besides a few close calls with a couple of Sodkiller Officers that gave him suspicious stares, no person in particular seems overly interesting or overly clueless. Perhaps it would be better to search in another district of the Hive, seeing as how this one is the most orderly, and even if you do manage to find a clueless, it'd be hard to bob 'im without the authorities being involved.
Closeby are the Chaos district and the Gray district, along with the previous three districts that allow access to the Hive from the Clerk's Ward.
OOC: I don't know to much about either Gray or Chaos. I guess the Dead district has the mortuary which sounds kind of boring. So Chaos I guess.
Whoops, here you go:
Gray District
Just spireward from the Mortuary lays the drab, and some say menacing, Gray District, home to many of the Dustmen that operate the Mortuary. Of course, with the changes in the portals within the Mortuary, it may not retain its use forever.
Common sights within this district are the sullen, emotionless Dustmen who linger still, not possessed of the motivation to do anything else, even after the “disbanding” of their faction. Zombies, skeletons, and even wights, among other undead are seen wandering the district as well, typically in tow with one of the yet living Mortuary workers.
For being in the Hive proper, and not the Lower Ward, the streets and kips populating the area are clean, well-tended and free of refuse and razorvine. Old habits die hard, and despite the bland and perhaps disturbing aspects of the buildings and residents, the area is much safer than most other areas of the Hive aside from some of the insular racial enclaves. Things appear to be deteriorating, however, in the wake of the Faction War some five years ago, and it is likely that in time the Grey District will be swallowed up by the rest of the Hive and lose its distinct flavor.
Madhouse District
Surrounding the Gatehouse stands the Madhouse District. The blocks of tenements and kips radiating out away from the hill atop which the Gatehouse stands are awash in the filth of the true aspects of the Hive: the poor, the hungry, the apathetic, and the barmy. The smell of human excrement and bub sting the nostrils, and an outsider wandering through the district is likely to be swarmed by beggars asking for food, drink, or coin for both. Pickpockets and thieves abound, eager to bob a cutter simply for having what they do not. (an ideal place for you to bob and get bobbed!)This district epitomizes human misery at its worst. The sick, hungry, and hopeless still queue day in and day out to seek refuge and temporary respite from their ills with the Bleakers within the Gatehouse, and the lines may reach down from the hill and into the rest of the district. Their situation is unlikely to change soon, even with a cutter such as Jeena Ealy upon the Sigil Advisory Council.
One of the more notable, and utterly unofficial, spots within the district is the so-called Night Market, somewhere between Lot’s Lane and Laughing Cat Alley. Just like the Great Bazaar, but with a darker side, the Night Market sells goods and services, but nothing therein has a name or a past. Don’t inquire as to the origin of any of the goods, or the names of any who might be hired for a service. It’s better that way.
From what remains in your memory, you are most familiar with the Clerk's Ward and Lady's Ward, therefore the other wards (especially the Hive) have nuances and secrets which you are largely unaware of and may need a tout (or perhaps more) to uncover.
OCC: Tame Undead versus Desperate mortals.... I must have been a sensate. I'll head for the Madhouse district and hope I don't get bobbed. At least I don't have any cash to take.
Taking Two-Lamp lane from the Marble district to the Chaos district, soon enough, you stumble onto several possible targets. They all look helpless, but you have the wisdom to not judge solely by looks. Just because you are in the Hive does not mean that there are powerful (or worse, powerful and disguised) bloods prowling the streets.
Here are possible targets:
An old man in relatively decent clothes talking to himself (perhaps debating with himself), oblivious to the world around.
A very slow walking old woman strolling along one of the side streets passing by many dark alleyways.
A young, dark-haired, quite beautiful woman (though shabbily dressed), with her hands filled with bags of food, as if she'd just visited the food merchant.
The old man sure looks clueless... The old woman looks... too easy... but her... He tries to follow the young woman with the food at a distance trying to detect her thoughts while still keeping an eye out for other trouble.
She's trying to get home to her kip in New Tyr. She lives with her mother and little brother.
no other trouble is apparent...right now.
Samael continues to follow her discreetly, but will reveal himself and approach as unthreateningly as one might expect to be normal for someone walking around this area if she notices him or if she reaches the end of the district unobstructed.
she doesn't seem to notice, and continues to walk, leading you back to the Marble District (from here, she'll be going to New Tyr).
Oh well, figured she's be perfect bait... Come to think of it, she probably doesn't have any jink, with that food she's carrying. Guess they thought of that too. Still it'd be a waste to turn back without even speaking with her after coming all this way... Besides, she's bound to know a few things about the hive he doesn't.
He increases his pace in order to reach her before she gets to the marble district. "Excuse me miss. You look like you could use a hand with all that." He puts on his best cluelessly earnest expression.
Still walkign, she gives you a nervous glance. Her dark beauty is similar to that of Necravia, though perhaps not as sullen. You swear, you have seen her before, or perhaps know her from your previous life.
Thanks, but I'm fine, she's not even finished saying this when she picks up her pace, and tries to go towards the middle of the street, in plain view of everyone around
OOC:
In the Hive, it's extremely rare for someone to be this helpful without having another agenda. This would, however work in the Clerk's and Lady's Ward.
lol, it's hard to pick up a Cager chick these days...
OOC: Yeah, the original plan was to use her as mugger bait, and then intervene on her behalf and take the mugger's stuff. That would have had the dual effect of getting me some jink, and getting her ingratiated to me. Oh well, maybe I'll just look for a mugging in progress next time.
"Oh, very well, um, might you be able to direct me to the Lady's Ward?" He continues his clueless facade as he follows her.
She speaks quickly and evasively: I don't know cutter - I've never been there before - I'm sure someone around here can help you. Have you tried a Tout?
And continues walking.
Samael sighed inwardly. He was wasting time. He would just have to hope he ran into her again some time in the future. He needed to get to the Lady's Ward and speak to this Talia, and he needed to get some jink.
"Oh, very well miss, sorry to bother you. Take care." He stops following her, and waits for her to get some distance, before turning around and heading back to the Madhouse district. This time, instead of looking for bashers who look like they'd be easy to bob, he looks for berks who seem like they're about to get bobbed by someone else.
OOC: Sorry if this is starting to get a bit silly.
OOC: No no, it's fun!
You have no such luck. No one and everyone at the moment in the immediate vicinity could be possible bobbers (even the crazy man who talks to himself - it could just be a ruse). You're also quite certain that no one, at the moment, is about to bob someone else.
Several other thoughts come to mind.
1) Classic Hit-and-Run
2) Find Work/ Random Errands to get you jink.
3) Sell items to merchants.
4) Steal Items from merchants, then sell to other merchants.
5) Street Perform (?) ok, maybe not as viable as the others
6) Forget trying to get money for Oily right now, and use him only as a contingency if/when you're desperate.
A note about buying and selling items: Your high charisma score allows you to buy and sell items (to most merchants, esp females and homosexual males) at more or less the market price. If you sell your sword, for example, you can be certain that you got a decent amount of jink for it.
OOC: Even without Oily I still need Jink though. It looks odd walking into a pub and not buying anything. Money is also quite useful for bribes.
Samael begins to get frustrated. You'd think there'd be a few more clueless around here. He glances at the addle-cove No, too unpredictable. Well if there's no one to bob, I'll just have to do something about that. Putting on his best clueless facade he walks into a dark alley.
The man completely ignores your presence and continues talking to himself - absolute gibberish is what he's saying. He's quite possible a recent escapee from the Gatehouse.
He appears to be unarmed.
Samael sighs and yells at the man, "Oi, addle cove!"
The man looks blankly at you for a second, says:
Hiryreoi Gryvgasyhlsf and continues walking back and forth.
Samael grits his teeth, he really would prefer to do this without violence or intimidation. "You got any Jink?"
The man is completely oblivious, and continues walking in strange patterns, one time brushing by you , as if you're no longer there.
Talking may not be the best course of action with this barmy.
Samael lets out an annoyed grunt and, perhaps unwisely, tries to spy on the mad man's thoughts.
the attempt is fruitless as he encounters multiple personalities vying for control of the same body:
An abused little girl
An enraged Gehrehleth
A canny Nighthag
A reclusive loner..
The experience is overwhelming, and your head literally swims with these personalities and several others as you tap into this barmy's brain-box.
You also get the strangest feeling that the two of you are being watched.
Samael reels from the contact with multiple psyches, ceasing the connection as quickly as possible. "Gha!! What the- sodding addle-cove..." Sensing that he is being watched, he falls silent, trying to hear anything that might give away a hint as to who or what might be watching them. He also tries to use his abilities at mental voyeurism to do the same, being careful of course to avoid making contact with the addle-cove.
No other souls are in the immediate vicinity besides the two of you, though it's very hard to tell because of the interference from the barmy. Even as you try to disconnect yourself from his mind, the thoughts still linger. It is possible that one of the personalities is not actually his, and of a third party, but you're not sure.
Still, an eerie silence serves as the backdrop of his insane ramblings, and you feel as uncomfortable as ever since your awwakening.
OOC: make listen, search, spot checks, if you wish.
OOC: Um, if you could make the rolls that'd be great, right now I'm at my releltives' house and don't have my sheet.
done:
Scanning the area, you don't see or hear anything.
The man's babbling becomes more high pitched and furious. Intuition screams that you don't stay here much longer.
With one last glance at the strange man Samael quickly retreats from him and hurries down an alley. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it.
You're back in another alley. This one seems darker than the last one... darker than it should be. There are too many shadows.
Discounting the low howl of the wind and the faint gibbering of the other man, which you've grown acclimized to, this alley is deathly quiet as well.
Still.. it's too dark. The Sigilian "sky" is quite bright, and there is nothing to obscure the view - but then why is it so dark?
Besides the unusual darkness, you don't hear or see anything out of the ordinary in this alleyway. No other souls, but a general feeling of dread. Something's not right - you don't know what it is.
"What now? ... Pike it, where am I?" Considering that the only way out is to continue moving, Samael does just that. Slowly. He continues looking around for any other person, and trying to find any other psyche that doesn't belong to the mad man.
Double post.
The barmies are the majority in this area... though there are a few 'normal' looking cutters that are going about their business on the street. You could try peeling one of them. There are no apparent authorities in the area, so there is little risk for retribution or punishment for robbing/killing a commoner.
After his last encounter, Samael would rather avoid any more barmies. He keeps walking, trying to avoid gaining their attention.
Then, as if on cue, you find a good target. A tired-looking local street harlot dressed in cheap clothing.
Why dontcha come and chat with me a bit, love?
she hollers, to no one in particular.
OOC; I'm gonna call it a night - hope you had a nice Xmas!
Samael sighs, painfully aware of the irony of his situation. He takes a moment to regain his composure before approaching the woman with his usual confident smile. "Aye, I'd be glad to have someone to chat with. Have you got some time?" Looking her up and down only somewhat discretely as he attempts to peer into her thoughts.
She's having a good day so far - 50 jink in 2 hours. She'll try to see how much she can get out of you, but seeing as how you're a good looking cutter, maybe she'll give you a discount.
For a handsome basher like yerself, I got time! I think I can help ye find what yer missin'!
Samael continues his mental voyeurism as they speak. "It's good to finally meet a friendly face in this part of town." He says, looking around cautiously. "I'd really like to get to know you better. Want to find somewhere a bit more secluded? It'd be bothersome if some barmy butted in on our conversation."
Aye! I've got just the spot. C'mere!
She greedily grabs your arm, and quickly tugs you into a dark and secluded alleyway. This alley is dark, but not unnaturally so.. perhaps a bit more inviting than the last one you were in.
Aight - It's 5 to get a glance at what yer missin', and 20 to actually get it!
Samael continues to eye her appraisingly, though he is in fact also trying to determine where her purse is. Great, straight to business, just what I didn't need. I could just chiv her and take the jink... but... sod it, no.
"Oh, come now, don't be so impersonal. I'm sure we can work some sort of exchange later, but we haven't even made introductions yet. You can call me Samael. And what is it you wish me to call you, my dear?"
OOC: By the way, do I know that Incubi can detect thoughts?