[Lucern's Lodestar]The snowglobe, it lies! (Open)

[Bob Barton]

64th day of Fall 511 AV

On the streets Bob was asking around about one of Sunberth's more darker secrets. All about the Lodestar. Just random people on the streets, or maybe some people he already knew. He was going to go alone but if there was anyone he trusted that wanted to tag along he was alright with it. Safety in numbers and all that especially after some of the things he had heard about the place. A person normally would not normally believe these wild stories too much, but when a lot of them pop up at the same time there is definitely some degree of truth to them that you should trust even a little bit.

Not really so suspicious a thing to ask especially when Bob went around with his snowglobe in hand asking people "what do you know about this place? Its very, very pretty." Some people dismissed Bob as crazy, or a tourist which was equally crazy in Sunberth but to have something like that in a snowglobe would qualify as quality merchandise that only tourist would get and Bob? He was lucky enough to get it for free though he might have traded a part of his soul in the process. An event that he would probably not remember for a long long time unless some outside element is able to trigger it and that was why no one should ever do drugs like the pulp.

What did Bob learn about the Lodestar after asking around? Many many things. Some which made him want to go there even more with people telling him things like it was home to the Leywellins for generations and those people were one of the richest families in Sunberth until the last of them died off and the place remained untouched except for the Daggerhands. All interesting "so what happened to all their riches?" he continued asking those who bothered to answer his questions. No one could really give a satisfactory answer so Bob could only make guesswork of it like the Robern keeping all the riches to himself so that he could stay strong. Money is power as they always say. It wouldn't hurt to go looking and maybe if he was lucky get something out of it. Bob only had to avoid those Daggerhands and that was something he has been trying to do ever since that day in the alley.

But there are other things that Bob heard that should have made him stay away. "A bunch of shyke!" Bob was a storyteller and if Robern wanted people to stay away better he should have told better things other than "nonsense of curses and moving armor" from the hearsay the others told him. "Tell me the real dangers man" he would ask them. Robern's decree? That was pretty dangerous but it shouldn't be a problem as long as he didn't get caught.

For something as strange as this, what prompted Bob go to to the Lodestar in the first place? Simple. A kelvic's snowglobe and Jinsen, the guiding factor happening for the past few days.

Two days ago...

Bob had to find something to do besides just taking care of animals in the normal mundane routine in Killroy's and then he saw that little snowglobe on display on top to the table on the room. It was interesting to find something like that in Sunberth. Interesting and amusing seeing all the snow flying around everytime he shook it. Who else might find this as interesting as Bob did? Jinsen! Probably the only dog which Bob would handle putting up with right now since it was his. Taking the snowglobe he hurried over to where Jinsen and got it out telling it that "I got a new toy for you." Jinsen knew where the snowglobe came from and if it really enjoyed it, maybe it would put a lot more effort into finding more things like this for Bob when he asked it too.

It also provided Bob a good opportunity to train the dog how to follow his commands, for once. He rolled the globe under his palms to shake the snow around until he could see Jinsen having its full attention on it. "Yes Jinsen, watch the pretty little globe...now catch!" he yelled rolling the globe forward on the ground. The dog just stood there watching the globe as it rolled around getting Bob to call his command a little more annoyingly "Catch Jinsen, chase the globe! Don't just stand there watching" until it stopped at the wall with a "Clink!" Only then the dog went up to it and started to play around with its new toy.

Was Bob going to let it enjoy it? No he wasn't especially after the fact that the dog did nothing. Hannah did teach him to not punish the dog but this was not punishment for it, it was just withholding its reward. How could Bob even think of rewarding Jinsen if it could not even go after a ball that he rolled so slowly? He went up to the snowglobe and took it away from Jinsen. "No, we are going to try this over and over again until you finally get it Jinsen!" There was no way to go around it.

One day ago...

Jinsen...if only Hannah had given him a smarter dog then Bob would have an easier time. But no, that dog just kept waiting until the snowglobe stopped rolling before going after it. Maybe in a way it was smart to not waste its energy until it could go after a sure thing but not that smart if Bob wanted it to follow his commands. He decided to try another method today just to show Jinsen how crucial its timing in getting the snowglobe would be.

Bob rolled the snowglobe at the same slow speed as he had always been doing and kept watch on Jinsen for a few seconds. "Not chasing it Jinsen?" he asked. Then "fine, I guess you won't even have a chance of playing it" he told it as he went after the snowglobe and picked it up before it reached the wall getting a dissatisfied bark from Jinsen. Excellent, there was finally a reaction and Bob continued again to chase after the rolling snowglobe over and over each time Jinsen failed to act.

Until finally Jinsen started moving after the snowglobe after it started rolling. All fine and good for Bob. Gradually he stopped moving after the snowglobe and started to issue commands to "Chase, catch!" which Jinsen followed through. Until finally one of the other workers saw Bob playing with his dog and inspected the snowglobe telling him that it was "Lucerne’s Lodestar?" Bob never heard of that before until now.

Today...

So after all that asking around, probably raising the interests of those who knew him and the suspicions of those who didn't Bob found himself on the way to Lodestar. While Jinsen helped a lot with this idea he was not bringing it along. Getting caught by Daggerhands was too big a risk to take. Now, how was he going to get there? Even with all that asking around he still had no clue. It was on an island wasn't it? Alright, "time to look for a boat!"

[Zenai]

Season of Fall, Day 64, 511 AV

"So, lemme guess this straight... you gamble, organize rat races and now, you want to find this 'lodestone' with the help of a snow globe and almost unreliable dog... Did I ever tell you're some sort of crazy person?"
"I wasn't listening. So what do you say, old friend?"
"You. Are. Crazy."
"Oh, don't be a spoil sport!"
"The last time I've helped you I almost got sent to the mines! Lucky, my father cared enough to get me out."
"See! You're resourceful!"
"I'm going to strangle you..."
"Hey, so you're gonna help me or not?"

Zenai thought for awhile and look away from Bob. He observed his surroundings; a tavern full of drunken men either just got off their day shift or planning to start their night shift drunk. There also some wenches serving their customers and Zenai wondered if he could get another tankard of whatever swill he was drinking. He continues to nibble on the slop that was on his plate. He wasn't hungry but he need to grind something with his teeth. The air stank of sweat and smoke as well as unmentionables from "couples" coming out of closets and under the table. Get a room why don't you! he thought.

Bob wasn't a bad person really. Maybe just stupid and greedy or more greedy than smart. He doesn't know exactly. Bob wouldn't stab you in the back but would hang you out to dry and saying that one could well gotten out of a predicament without his help. All-in-all; don't trust Bob but a friend is a friend.

"Alright, what do you need me to do?"

[Shai]

Shai was out during the day, a rare occurrence not that it stopped her from wearing her black cloak. She had been casually watching a main thoroughfare in the city for some idiot who deserved to lose his coins. When she spotted a very short idiot with no coins to give her but something else especially shiny in his palms; it was Bob. She’d chosen her current building specifically because she could scale the walls without her hands or feet in skin contact with it, of course that meant the normal ruffians could as well but so far she’d remained undisturbed.

Shai slid over the side of the building following her climbing path back down, using gloved hands and booted feet it was slow but it didn’t make her stand out nearly as much. She dropped down into an alleyway and moved out into the busy crowd, consciously avoiding people as she didn’t expect anyone to move out of her way. When she finally reached the spot where she’d seen Bob pestering someone she was surprised to notice the small glass globe in his hands. She’d been hoping for something valuable, but barring high value curiosity was always a close second. “Fancy seeing you here Bob, what have you got there?” She asked with a sense of levity in her voice, she grudgingly liked Bob but she’d never admit it and she would never steal from someone she liked.

[Zandelia]

Zandelia’s days were now a mixture of running for her life, passing messages to people deemed of higher importance than herself in the grand scheme of things and the sense that her mission to earn enough to open up her own little information purveying business was a goal that always seemed to be just over the horizon and ultimately unreachable. It was true that she most probably possessed riches that the majority of the Sunberth population would kill for, however she always seemed to need more. When she thought she had enough to begin there always cropped up another unforeseen expenditure that not only turned out to be expensive but also very necessary. She had learnt much from being in Tua’s employ, and of the diverse teachings what she treasured most was his schooling in logistics and organisation – though he probably did not know he had schooled her at all.

But he has, and though I hate the bastard I thank him for it. If I had merely opened up shop without proper consideration I would most probably be like my father now – dead and unknown she thought to herself as she stalked the streets, her Shadowsilk robes rippling behind her though no breeze stirred this evening.

It was a sojourn that she now meandered through and completed almost every night, ever since she had gleaned how profitable it could be for her. On some nights she merely followed those whom were interesting, perhaps gaining some insights and information along the way. Other nights she waylaid those of weaker abilities and took from them what she could before ending their lives, never one to leave an enemy behind her if she could help it. Some might call her mad, she knew, but she knew otherwise. Insanity was not so shrewdly calculating in its endeavours. She merely knew the value of being unwanted by any and the profit of killing those who would do you harm. Sometimes she wondered why people would equate practicality to a terrible nature – but then she could not blame them either. She was not a particularly nice person to know at times.

“Bob knows that all too well indeed. He is one who sees me as gruesome in some regards,” she muttered to herself as she spied a possible target before her, “and speaking of Bob…” she trailed her voice off as the figure coalesced into the man himself, though it would not be difficult to mistake him for a child given his stature.

As she continued forwards, placing her feet slowly and methodically so as to effectively stalk him for a while, curiosity powering her forwards as she caught flashes of an object he juggled, almost absently with one hand, she noticed that he was drawing to a halt and that another figure came to be beside him. She could not hear their words, the pair of them out of her auditory scope for the moment, but she continued forwards from shadow to shadow as yet another figure seemed to appear out of the gather blackness of evening and joined the pair to form a trio of conversation. This figure, however, was one she also knew from her ‘adventures’.

And what are you doing here Shai? she wondered to herself as her need to know, part of her nature intrinsically these days, got the better of her and she revealed herself to the group by walking swiftly into their wake with a smile and a reassuring nod for the stranger she knew nothing of.

“Whatever it be I would bet my last bloody miza that he’s up to something with it. Bob Barton is never one to walk the darkness in these areas for no reason. That is correct isn’t it friend?” she asked him, patting his shoulder gently as she knew that it might annoy him somewhat.

They shared a special relationship did Zandelia and Bob, one based mostly upon mutual antagonism and good natured humour. He was, after all, one of the few people she considered a comrade in the cesspool that was Sunberth.

[Bob Barton]

Finally Bob found out that Lucern's Lodestar was somewhere out in the sea. No surprise there since it was a lighthouse. That also meant that he needed a boat to go there and he found out one of the people who could do it. That unpleasant man Old Leg's in his wharf. Bob did not like him because he was...old. Yes well, he was old and that was one of the things which Bob held against him. Old people tended to be grouchy and demanding especially when they were a cripple as well. Could there be another way there? Maybe but if only someone else suggested it to him.

But at least he found some other people who are curious and foolhardy enough to join him. One of the main reasons would be because he was Bob and they have already gone with him for some ventures. Though profitable those were without a doubt strange and risky like this one. Who else to offer to join him first but Zenai ever the loyal friend though Bob had to persuade him a little bit. "Do you want to waste the rest of your day in this damnable tavern along with all these drunks you barely know..." and...wait for it, the selling pitch "...or do you want to join your old buddy Bob just like old times? You see? You got out of the mines so I am sure an old lighthouse won't be any problem." While Bob said all this he rolled the snowglobe under his hand on the table, just to try and suggest that there may be some degree of control for them if they tried this.

Once Bob and Zenai hit the streets, they were suddenly joined in by Shai. Now the sym he knew was very greedy especially since their first meeting involved her suggesting a risky yet promising job. Probably no more greedy than Bob because he only accepted when he found out that his part did not require him to do much. But she should know that the snowglobe she talked about which Bob quickly put away after she spoke was of no value whatsoever. Only a cheap trinket taken from a dead kelvic that he would never remember.

Turning to her she would know that "its just a snowglobe of the Lucerne's Lodestar which magically appeared in my room one day" where in truth he actually forgot as soon as the drugs in his system wore out. Without remembering where it came from he would assume that it magically appeared in his room as a sign. A sign that he should go into this Lodestar Island and explore it with maybe people he knew and probably trusted like Shai. Bob could not trust her kind that easily but he can trust in her capabilities. Who wouldn't want to be able to walk on walls. He tried to convince her in the usual Bob fashion which was "would you like to join me Shai? If the snowglobe says anything that would mean it can be the perfect spot for another date."

Yes their first date was in an alley discussing about robbing a brothel and if Zenai asked, Bob wouldn't bother telling to spare himself from the usual outbursts which would follow. Speaking of the first date there were others involved. Tikon and..."Zandelia!" he exclaimed with the other surprise appearance. "How can you mistake an innocent gathering among friends as anything but?" Shai he would ask out but Zandelia not so much. That woman had a mean scar across her face to match that attitude of hers which was why Bob reluctantly had to force himself to say "I hope that you are not disappointed that I did not invite your earlier, but you can still join us now." A bloodthirsty slaver killer always makes good company in a place like Sunberth.

[Zandelia]

“Oh Bob, the day you invite me to anything other than a casual drink as you try and eye up my bust will be the day I get shocked enough I may actually agree to going on a date with you!” she chuckled at him with a small smile as her eyes met his briefly, “so I learnt to merely invite myself upon ventures of gain and loss with you instead” she finished as she swept her gaze to Shai’s with a wink, knowing the small Symenestran woman would find it at least semi-amusing.

She looked to the other man and game him a nod of greeting, her trust extending only so far to those she had just met on a darkening evening in the streets of Sunberth. Still, he was obviously a friend of Bob Barton’s and that went some way to allaying her innate nature if suspicion. She would leave him be, up to a point, but she would also be keeping her single eye upon him for any indication that there may well be a betrayal – a wise notion to possess she knew from personal experience. He was a handsome enough man, looking more like a young pup than the grizzled warriors of Mok and Antar, but he would do well enough she suspected – for whatever the dwarf had planned for them.

I just hope it’s not a bloody hare-brained scheme that will lead to nothing but disappointment and despair. I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime she thought to herself.

“Zandelia is the name, and from what I heard you’re name is Zenai?” she posed the question more as a statement than a question as she extended her hand and it was shook, with a touch of tentativeness that she knew she reciprocated – two people trying to figure the other one out. Once it had been shaken, the pleasantries set aside and completed, their hands all but recoiled from one another in that ancient Sunberthian tradition.

“And Shai, it has been too long indeed. I keep meaning to get in touch with you, but you know how it is in the seedy underworld of this town” she spoke by way of apologetic greeting, extending her hand and letting it brush the woman’s shoulder in an almost companionable gesture. Shai was, after all, one of the few women Zandelia knew and that was bond enough in most groupings.

After her introductory words she bent down to have a small gaze upon the snow globe Bob was holding tightly within his grip. It was indeed an uncanny replica of the Lucerne’s Lodestar, and that was intriguing enough to her. Few people ever entered the Lodestar in these times, she knew, and fewer still ever returned to the place. It was haunted some said, others called it a mere relic of older times – a memory of what was suffered and what would never again be tolerated. To her it was a building that may or may not hold riches within. Either way she had always meant to enter its domain and see what could be discovered for her own ends. Treasure came in many forms after all, and to her words of old with secrets trapped within would have been a finer gift than gold itself. Ancient scrolls held prices finer than their intrinsic wealth, and knowledge was a currency she could thoroughly appreciate.

Still, danger could lay in wait and how Bob came across this little trinket is even more puzzling still she counseled herself as she straightened and looked down upon him once more.

“Are you sure it just…appeared…in your rooms one day? I mean, it sounds a bit coincidental doesn’t it? Perhaps an enemy put it there, if you have any? Any troublemakers about you who would like to see you scolded and defeated?” she asked him in a polite tone, “I only ask as it would be nice to know if there’s any true threat here to going. Adventure is fine, but set up adventure always ends badly” she smiled at him, her gaze very serious in comparison. She had no intention of dying for anyone anytime soon.

She let her neck twist to bring her vision to bear upon the Lodestar itself, safely across the water in its own little bastion. Getting there would not be so troublesome as it merely involved procuring a boat by either legal or illegal means. What may lay in wait for them was something mysterious and unknown to her though. She would go just to extend her knowledge upon something that few might know, to be able to set herself above others in her trade on that point. That alone would give her satisfaction. Leverage was the greatest asset to the information broker after all. Her curiosity was too great to let the opportunity pass, not to mention her need for money being just as convenient to the enterprise. She could not shake, however, a sense of struggle to be found ahead.

[Zenai]

Truth to be told, Zenai likes adventures and interesting things to do which makes him inclined towards always accepting every one of Bob’s request for Zenai to join him in his ventures or misadventures. No matter how stupid, dangerous or silly it was, Zenai would just give Bob a sigh and go along with it. Simply, Bob was and is Zenai’s friend, and friends stick together no matter what. Bob hasn’t led Zenai wrong and got Zenai killed, not yet anyway. Still, they got out most if not all predicaments through sheer galls and luck. Of course, Bob was a psychotic mad-midget but Zenai accepted him as he was just as Bob would accept Zenai being as he is or so Zenai thought. He was glad to have Bob as a friend, someone to look for him, drag him into danger and someone just to make fun of. The fact that he is a midget is funny in itself. Of course, Bob, being unethical periodically, allows Zenai to be satirical with the short man. Hopefully, Bob would turn a new leaf and be a more ethical person. Zenai laughed to himself at the thought: Bob? Ethical? Nice? When pigs fly and Bob is suddenly taller than Zenai, that is.

Bob looked at Zenai as if he was offended for some reason. “No, Bob; I was remembering funny that happened some time ago.” Zenai lied. Whether Bob believed him or nor, it didn’t mattered for now. The current issue is getting themselves over to Lucerne's Lodestar, an-almost decrepit lighthouse probably full of monsters and loot. The latter is what Zenai assumed Bob is looking for. The ancient lighthouse is located on Lodestar Isle where there were a few other residents that Zenai was more comfortable with, as in known dangers. The first would be Robern’s keep where he would inspect and tax the merchandise being brought into Sunberth. The Daggerhands were one of the more obvious authorities in Sunberth especially when it comes to shipping. They would work with Old Leg and Zenai would occasionally see them patrolling in various parts of Sunberth where they had some measure of control over. Most of the time, they would leave the docks to Old Leg’s taggers such as Zenai and Carsten, Zenai’s immediate superior. Zenai could deal with the Daggerhand like begging them not to kill Zenai and the rest. Hopefully, Old Leg doesn’t dump a random assignment on Zenai when he so happens to be wanting to go over to Lodestar Isle. He wouldn’t object as Zenai owed him many but it would be troublesome to carry it out.

Two more of Bob’s associates came to join as they made their way towards Old Leg’s wharf. One of them was Shai, a Symenestra who Zenai had both pleasant and unpleasant dealings with; she was pleasant enough to be around with but she was unpleasant in that she tried to rob Zenai’s caravan. Fortunately, the situation went over to Zenai’s favor and somewhat a draw for Shai. Zenai decided to let go of the matter and drop any hostilities; Zenai assumed in Sunberth that one person can be both your opponent and your friend. Either way, Shai was a potential ally; a thief and rogue Zenai could ask or even demand her help and skill. What better team to guard merchant caravans than a former thief and a guard? Zenai immediately dismissed the thought as that kind of team up could only happen in the realm of flying pigs and a taller-than-Zenai Bob. Zenai greeted Shai with politeness you would expect from a Syliran Knight. Hopefully, she is willing to work with Zenai despite their last tensed encounter and recovered enough from her injuries to be able to contribute in this little trip to the isle of the lodestar.

Then there’s this Zandelia woman who extended her hand in what Zenai assumed that she wanted a handshake. Zenai reached out with his own hand, grab Zandelia’s hand and shake it. “You are correct, sera. I’m Zenai, one of Bob’s associates. I’m sure you saw me with Bob here a few times.” Hopefully, she did as Zenai didn’t like when people seem to not notice him when he was there for a reason and the reason should be enough for a person to remember him later. Not to offend Shai, Zandelia was the finest woman he has seen in all of Sunberth. Others were ugly out of poverty or looks like clowns who offered a “good time” for the right price. Zenai assume the latter would juggle and tell jokes for a small fee. Zenai didn’t let out any indication of his interest towards her because there wasn’t any interest. Zenai found out so long ago those women were just trouble and that there were other things to worry about. Even if he had found someone, it’s going to take more effort, time and money to maintain things. Zenai would like a more comfortable and established situation before he commits to a life of marriage.

“So, Bob… What are we looking for exactly? I hope and assume you have this all planned out and not just winging it all the way. I also hope you are able to figure out how to use us to the best of our abilities and not get any of us killed, imprisoned or enslaved.” That was implied when they agreed to join this venture but it should be alright to state the obvious once in awhile just in case, especially Bob, wouldn’t forget it. “And what was in for us if I may speak for the rest of us. Pure adventuring might satisfy some people but there’s people like us who needs to pay for their daily expenses such as food and bribes especially the bribes.” Though Zenai was taught that doing good deeds was its own reward, the practical side of him would have smacked him in the head to remind Zenai that they were other important things to consider such as making a living and surviving.