The other side of the Maw [Open]

[Zevlin]

10 Day of Fall, 511 AV

From this side of the wall, the small part of the city he could see through the maw looked exciting and lively, with people bustling through the streets on there way to run errands, or meet friends, or whatever happened in their daily lives. It was strange, to see the difference in activity from Wind reach to Avaldas. Wind Reach had activity, but it was more...separated, what with the caste system in place. Everyone in Alvadas seemed more or less on equal terms.

"Very strange.." He murmured, Pulling the hood of his cloak down and shaking out his red hair. He would have been lying to himself if he thought he wasn't nervous. He had never been outside of Wind Reach before this, and the flutters in his stomach would not go away. Did he know enough of the common language to get by in the outside world? Would they be friendly, or hostile towards him? Those thoughts were pushed into the back of his mind. Now was not the time to be second guessing himself. He was here, he was going in, and that would be that.

With a new resolve, his nervousness melting into excitement and curiosity, he took the steps through the Gaping Maw, and entered the 'City of Illusions'. He had heard many stories about this place from the merchants who had cone to his former Master's shop, telling grand tales about the streets that moved, and his favorite, the disappearing temple. The thought of an entire building just vanishing astounded him. He had made Alvadas his first stop in his travels to witness this vanishing act.

But now that he was here, he had no idea what way he should take to reach the fabled temple. And with the way the streets supposedly changed, he doubted a map would be available, and asking for directions futile. "...Well.. I suppose a bit of exploration couldn't hurt." Zevlin's crooked smile tugged on to his lips, turning down one of the roads leading further into the city.

[Alric Wilmot]

Alric was having a rather average sort of day. He had grown bored while at home, and had taken a stroll. It was a favorite hobby of his. Thanks to the ever-changing roads of Alvadas, he always got to experience new things. That was Alric's goal in life. To experience, to learn, to understand, that was what it meant to be a thinking being.

His father had left the city on business and left Alric to watch over the rickety old home that once housed much richer folk than the Wilmot family. The Wilmot were still considered a Noble family, but that didn't really mean much without money. However Alric didn't much care. And neither did his father. Oh they were useful; they allowed one to understand the history behind a person.

But when it came to the Wilmot, a Noble title would only distract from their unique personality!...Actually, that may not be such a bad thing.

Alric chuckled to himself, thinking the joke was rather funny. This drew several stares, some curious, some much less benevolent. Alric ignored both. He was interested in something else at the moment. He had come upon the Gaping Maw, that was strange. He had always run into a building at this point in the road. Interesting, just as he thought he might have had a grasp on the city, it surprised him, dashing his understanding to pieces.

He observed a figure enter the city, a rather nervous figure by the way it had hesitated at the entrance. Alric thought it might be awfully nerve-racking to come to Alavadas for the first time. Alric had never left Alvadas, and so only knew that the city was different from others by reading books and engaged in conversation, but from what he gathered, other cities tended to be lazy, and stay in a fixed position. The newcomer would undoubtedly need assistance.

Alric glanced about, no one seemed interested. Well, if they didn't want to help, then he'd have to. He stalked the man, attempting to follow him through the early morning bustle.

[Zevlin]

From the bits and pieces he had seen so far, Alvadas was a beautiful city. Never having been out of Wind Reach, he had assumed that most cities would have been inside of mountains or caves as well, but the temperatures here were rather mild, if not a little warm. These people were able to live under open sky, and not have to worry over if the coming winter would freeze them solid. The man found himself growing rather jealous, though that fact made him laugh.

And the people were startlingly different. Where as almost the entire population of Wind Reach was Inarta, with their red hair and fair skin, there seemed to be every shape and color of human imaginable. And a few who weren't even human. A true mix of cultures, bringing their own sort of flavor into the city. He was given a dark look when he was caught staring at a woman with six arms, receiving a one fingered salute from a rough looking man with blue -Blue!- skin.

But for all of Alvadas's splendor, the city was rather frustrating. He had come across the same garden twice now, and he hadn't backtracked at all. Or that's what he believed at least. Maybe he had gotten lost and wandered back? With an irritable sigh, Zevlin turned down the opposite way he had chosen last time, choosing tongollow an entirely different path.

"I fear the temple may already be invisible to me.." His speaking to himself was attracting attention, but the young man paid them no heed. It helped him think and concentrate, when there was so much distraction in the city. But as he continued, he began to feel as if there was something off. More than once he had looked over his shoulder briefly, but not finding anything out of the ordinary (or his vision being impaired by crowds of people) he continued his search.

[Alric Wilmot]

Alric was quite amused with the stranger's antics. The man seemed genuinely curious at some of the most commonplace things. More than once Alric saw him stare at an Akalak or Eypharian. Alric was quire surprised at the reactions the man obtained as well. Alric had never gotten an Eypharian to even notice he exsisted, yet one of them had gone out of it's way to accost the man.

Alric found it quite funny. He had been planning on simply coming to the man's aid. But he had gotten distracted. The same garden had passed by on his left twice, and while he ignored it the first time, he felt that Ionu himself(or herself, Alric was of the opinion that Ionu could choose whichever gender he/she wanted) may have been telling him to come take a look the second time.

This caused him to lag behind of course, but he was in luck. The man had decided to back-track. Alric followed after him. He decided to wait and see when or if this Man could discover him. He did seem suspicious, Alric had seen him glance backwards more than once. But so far, it seemed he hadn't realized that he was being followed.

Alric was having a lot of fun with this. He was learning something new already!

[Alanys Hyacinth]

Oh how the Sun hurts... Alanys thought to herself as she crept over the rooftops of the Illusion city. Her ruby eyes were narrowed as pain repeatedly sliced into her mind as her eyes adjusted to Syna and her glory. It was such a frustrating thing. Over twenty years spent living in a dark cavern, exiting only to hunt for food in the hours of Leth, had made Alanys’ eyes sensitive to the brightness of the Day. Indeed, it was a fate shared by many Symenestra that crept from their homes to wander a strange new world without ample time to adjust to the sheer... openness of the place with its limitless sky and yellow light-bringer.

Alvadas had to be being a bastard of a City today, too, bringing frustration to gnaw at the headache already growing in the Symenestra’s frail cranium. Such a stupid City, shifting it’s damned streets as though change was going quickly out of style. She needed to find something static, something that couldn’t shift when her attention diverted from it for just a second. This she found below her in the form of a hooded and cloaked figure hesitating in the opening of an establishment that Alanys could only assume had not been there a few chimes before. The Gaping Maw. Such a fitting name for a place where one could eat. Humans were, by what she understood, not a permanent fixture in this city (in a sense, at least), and so they couldn’t disappear in the blink of an eye into nothingness. Only the City changed, the Streets warped, and the Houses crawled. Humans could be followed and observed and a migraine could be avoided if she’d just follow this Human...

It seemed as though someone else was following her Human as well. Unnerving ruby eyes settled on yet another Human as she followed her static one. Two Humans! Were they making a figurative train to navigate these winding streets? She following from the rooftops, the second Human trailing from the streets, and the first Human utterly lost and confused. Each time they passed the beautiful Garden, Alanys had wrinkled her nose in distaste. Flowers were too sweet to her nose. But now that she had a source of amusement she couldn’t have cared less if they entered the Garden or continued to walk in circles. She didn’t have anything better to do at this point... in fact, she’d forgotten why she was frustrated in the first place! Following Humans seemed much more fun that scouring her brain for her previous need anyway!

[Alric Wilmot]

Alric dodged a pair of drunken brawlers as he continued his pursuit of the mystery man. He had gotten quite close now, only a few feet away. However, the man had yet to take notice. Mainly this was because Alric was quite good at feigning interest in nearby situations. Well, at least looking in other directions. In actuality he was quite bad at feigning interest, as he actually was interested in everything. He dodged a few more people, this time arguing Akalaks. They didn't seem to notice Alric, which was understandable. They were a full foot taller than him.

He continued his pursuit, although he was debating with himself if he should give it up. The poor man (which he discovered was actually a few inches shorter than him) was getting frustrated. This most likely meant that he was looking for a specific place. Alric could definitely understand a newcomer's frustration. If you were used to buildings being always in the same place, then Alvadas would be quite a culture shock.

As Alric continued along he noticed a white gleam in the corner of his eye, he turned his head only slightly, and kept up his pace. He was used to Alvadas, and people often followed others in this city. He had been followed several times. It wasn't always for a malevolent purpose. Sometimes people would just want an opinion, or a model for a painting, or some other harmless favor. However, there were always evil people about. And occasionally, you would have a thief or worse dogging your tail.

He noticed a figure on the rooftops, but beyond that he couldn't tell without turning around. He was pretty sure that the figure was at least heading in the same direction. But he was hesitant to call the figure a stalker just yet. He decided to wait it out.

Hmmm, that seemed to be a common thing today.

[Zevlin]

The more he wandered around the city, the more Zevlin was torn between his curiosity to explore more, and his burning hatred for being lost. Not that he would ever admit out loud that he was lost, that would just cause embarrassment. Not even the people were all that interesting anymore, though his eyes still widened and followed the man who was speaking to the clay figurine that was on his shoulder, growing even wider when the clay-man replied jovially.

It was once the pair were begun him, and he was looking over his shoulder, that he noticed the man staring at him. He hadn't been sure at first, but after a few moments, it was clear that he indeed had his eyes trained on the Inarta. Feeling slightly put off by the fact that he was being watched, he covered up his discomfort with a smile, before turning back around and walking on. His steps were quicker now, part of him hoping to get away from the strange man, and another wondering if he should have stopped to talk. Perhaps the man could have pointed him in the right direction.

Though he had caught the one who he believed had caused his first initial feelings of wrongness, it remain, making the hairs on his neck stand on end, and for the life of him he could not figure out what was causing it. He had never been one for paranoid thoughts, but he felt watched. He cast a nervous glance over his shoulder, checking again for what might have been the cause of his distress.

[Alric Wilmot]

Alric pouted for a moment, he had been found out. Although, the man did not seem to be as relieved as Alric had thought he would be. He continued to follow the man, this time he really would make a proper introduction. He spotted the same white blur at the corner of his eye, but decided to continue letting the stalker approach him (he had no doubt now, he had made three turns following the other man and the figure had followed.).

Suddenly, he wondered if the figure might be following the man. And then he wondered if the man knew that this creature had been following him, and that was the cause of his nervousness. If that was the case, the figure was most likely to be an assassin. And that would mean the newcomer was actually a refugee.

Alric did not want to jump to conclusions, but... it still might be best to introduce himself to the man and point out the creature that had been following them as soon as possible. He closed the distance between the man and himself quickly, and tapped him on the shoulder. The man turned around warily.

"Hello, there! I couldn't help but notice you enter the Gaping Maw. I also couldn't help but notice that you seem rather frustrated. Might I be of assistance? I've lived here for... quite a while now, and have a few tricks to get you where you need to be..."

[Zevlin]

Zevlin almost couldn't stop himself from jumping when he was tapped on the shoulder, turning to see who it was that had snuck up on him. He raised a brow when his mind registered the man's face as the one who had been staring at him before. Following would be a better word, he supposed. Also the thought that someone would follow him, while intimidating, was also rather flattering. His easy smile slid back on to his face turning around completely to face the man completely, noting he was slightly shorter.

"Why is everyone taller than me here?" He mumbled, noticing that most of the people around them were a few inches, if not feet, taller than he was. Bringing his attention back down to the man before him, and what he was saying. The smile broke out into a grin, slinging an arm around the stranger good naturally. "Really? Well why didn't you say so before~?" He asked, trying hard to keep his common speech fluent. He wasn't perfect, but he was trying his best

"I'm actually trying to find my way to the famed temple. The one which will vanish randomly?" He asked, trying to make the man understand what he was asking. He was convinced he didn't make much sense, even though his wording wasn't all that awful. "You'd be willing to lead me there, yes?"

[Alanys Hyacinth]

Alanys watched the Humans interact below her. She was under the impression that neither knew she was there, and so she felt she could observe them in relative safety, far out of the reach of anyone and anything unless they had wings or something they could throw. She settled in to watch the Humans, considering the benifits of clambering down the solid vertical nearby and approaching. Maybe she could go under the guise of being lost? Where was she going to again?

The Symenestra pursed her lips in contemplation. She knew she was heading somewhere earlier before she got side-tracked. If she could only remember to where... It didn’t matter anyway. She had a source of amusement for a few chimes and she could enjoy watching them and perhaps eventually interacting with them on ground level. Who knew anyway? Sometimes Humans weren’t as stupid as they looked and she could end up with a few of these lumbering giants as ‘friends’.

She settled down close to the roof she was on, her slight body wrapped and bound in strips of dark violet linen. Her lash hung off her hip attached to the gold scarf she wore across it. She was such an odd spider, dressing in completely unusual attire for a Human city that she was rather surprised that not one of these Humans had noticed her.

No one said they were entirely intelligent, however.