Grocery Shopping in the City of Anarchy (Open)

[Trassen]

Date: 41st Day of Fall, 510 A.V. The night air was crisp and cool as Tressan slithered along the streets of Sunberth, the lawless city he had grown to enjoy. He paused and held his hands out in front of his face, focusing his mind on creating a small amount of djed. He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, the familiar translucent mist streaming out from his mouth, forming a rough sphere the size of a pair of fists in his hands. He shifted the orb to his left hand, using his thoughts to make it hover a few inches above his palm. With a snap of the fingers on his other hand, the outer layer of the ball burst into flames. He left the core of the sphere in it's djed state so that he could maintain control of it. The fireball wasn't so much for light, in fact it interfered with his thermal sensing a bit, but it helped him keep warm, and it seemed the only thing more imposing that a giant snake-man with a pair of swords on his back was a giant snake-man with swords on his back and a fireball in one hand. Tonight he was simply window shopping for his next meal, he had only finished digesting his last dinner the day before. The streets were nearly deserted as he had expected, all the people who could afford to stay inside were doing so. All that remained were those too poor to be missed, and those like him, predators sniffing out their next prey, although he doubted that the metaphor was as literal for them as it was for him. He overheard a couple of guys standing just outside the tavern talking about some little clay man they had seen the other day. Apparently he was an entertainer that had come to town and he was starting up some sort of troupe. He shrugged and kept going, turning down one of countless dark alleys that littered the city. He cut back onto one of the other main roads and paused to survey the area. A couple vagabonds were still sitting against the wall of one of the buildings, clinging to their cups in the hopes that someone would brave the darkness to spare them a copper or two. He shook his head with a sigh and resumed his late night excursion. In a couple of days, one of the two bums would suddenly find himself alone at that spot, unless he happened to find a more appetizing meal between now and then.

[Verduth]

Verduth had been standing in an alley, searching through his bag for something and definitely minding his own business, when the strangest sound passed him by. His head had been in his bag at that moment, however, by the time he'd untangled himself to get a good look whatever had caused the sound had been gone. It had been a sort of dragging sound, and yet not. He'd never heard anything like it and he was curious what had made it. Fortunately, he knew the direction it had headed and he set off that way as fast as his little legs would carry him. When he came near the street he could no longer hear the strange sound anymore. That was a bit disappointing. On the other hand there was some interesting looking object, like a stack of coins on its side, laying on the ground. He grabbed the strange object and lifted it as far as he could. It seemed to be attached to something, but he had no idea what.

[Trassen]

Tressan had been lost in his own mind, a dangerous habit in a city like this, deciding on how to play with his food before he ate it. He always tried to make his victims suffer before the inevitable end, the thoughts of torture drew his free hand to the medallion hanging against his chest. The next thing he knew, something was moving his rattle, an unusual feeling to say the least. Sure people had accidently stepped on it a few times, and while it didn't get damaged, he still made sure that the culprits always joined him as dinner, to show there was no hard feelings. He slowly turned his head, trying to get a glance at whoever was holding his tail, but no one was there. His eyes dropped to his tail itself, which at first glance seemed to be resting on a glob of clay. Upon a closer inspection the blob was revealed to have features, like an actual person's although, different? It didn't seem to be a threat, so he decided not to kill it right away. Instead, hequickly snatched the figure up with his right hand, quickly bringing it up to dangle between his fingers over the ball of magic flames he had been using as a heater, just high enough to avoid burning it, but only just. "Why ssshouldn't I kill you?" He demanded in common tongue, his words dripping with venom. (metaphorically speaking of course)

[Verduth]

Verduth let out a yell as he was suddenly lifted into the air and held over a small ball of flame. He couldn't really see much of the person holding him but once he had collected himself, which only took a moment, he started to speak without pause. "Oh my! I do say! Could you put that thing out, it's a bit hot and I might begin to harden. Hold on a moment, is that coming out of your hand? How marvelous! How are you able to do that and was that thing attached to you? It is a curious sort of thing to drag around. Were you the source of that strange noise or did it perhaps pass you by? And why do you have that lisp? You are quite marvelous, I must say!" He seemed to be bubbling with excitement despite his precarious position. "Oh but I am being rude! Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Verduth and the folks around here call me the littlest ringmaster." He tried to bow but it was impossible in his current situation. It was disconcerting but he'd just have to perform the formality later. "You wouldn't perhaps be interested in a little proposition, I believe I may have a place for someone as interesting as you in my troupe." A large grin spread across his face which faded again as his current situation finally hit him. "Though, I must say, I won't be of much use to you if you don't put that out soon."

[Trassen]

Trassen moved the pycon away from the flames, then turning his hand palm up so that he would be able to stand instead of the constant dangling. What's the point of torturing him if half the time he doesn't even care? The thought flickered through his mind, effectively writing off any further plotting of revenge for touching his tail. Still, the situation was a serious one, and it wasn't helping that Verduth found his speech patterns amusing. "So you are the one I've heard about. I find it strage that you would try to find an audience, let alone helpers, in the city of liars, cutthroats, and thieves." He stated, forcing himself to control his hissing. He allowed the flame to grow a bit, giving off more light before using it to reveal his form, from his reptilian eyes, all the way down to his rattle tail, even shaking it once for demonstration. "You now know what I am, are you sure you would want someone like me?" His question hung in the air for a moment. In reality, while he had never dreamed of joining a circus, and he had managed to carve out his own little niche within the city, he knew it was only a matter of time before he would meet an untimely end here. This little clay man was his ticket to travel the world, and no one would suspect that a missing person or two had anything to do with the circus that was in town. There were still things he wished to accomplish here, although nothing important enough to keep him from leaving. "If you feel that you would want a Dhani in your troupe, I only need to know when we leave, and where we meet."

[Verduth]

The Pycon straightened himself out and dusted away non-existent dirt. "Ah, that's much better, now we can speak like the civilized creatures that we are." He listened to the man's first words. "I'll have you know that I come from a Pyve right outside Sunberth, so why wouldn't I start my search here," he asked as the flame grew brighter. His eyes widened. "Oooooooh, woooooow!" He was now leaned forward to get a good look. "You're some kind of, what do they call them," he thought for a moment, "snake! Yeah? Is that right? That's even better than spewing fire from your hands! I certainly don't mind, not at all and I think people would find you quite fascinating! You could easily make a living just by being yourself." He grinned at the snake man before quickly switching to a frown. "But no killing or burning anyone in the group. You have to get along." He wagged his finger at the snake man and the grin returned. "I'm sure everyone will love you. Oh I have so much planned. You just wait, you're going to like this."

[Trassen]

"Universal love is usually the last thing on someone's mind when they see me." Trassen warned, doubting his reception would be anywhere near as warm as the self proclaimed 'littlest ringmaster' made it out to be. Even still, he was used to being the object of disdain. He found it a tad humerous how amazed Verduth was with his simple display reimancy. The pycon's conditions struck him as a little harsh, although not totally unwarrented. "I'll do my best not to hurt anyone, but I will not hesitate should someone cross me." The fireball grew even brighter for a moment, emphasizing his point. "Sssooo, now what happensss?" The Dhani asked, his signature hiss leaking back in his voice. If the Pycon desired to be placed back down he would gladly lower his hand to make it easier, although he had no issues with carrying him. There was something odd about the little clay man's manner that made him come across as likeable, although Trassen would never admit to that. Still, he didn't necessarily dislike the company.

[Verduth]

Verduth waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "You've met the wrong people is all. This will be different, you'll see! I'm sure no one will cross you either. Everything will be just wonderful! But what to do next..." The little clay man scratched his chin. Should he take the man back to Sunset Quarter, arrange a time and place to meet? Then an idea sparked in Verduth's mind. If this was going to continue, and more people were going to join his little show, then it would be best if they lived together. They couldn't do that in Sunset Quarter, but he knew the perfect place! He grinned at the snake man. "Well, I believe we'll be needing something better than Sunset Quarter, and I know the perfect place." He described it and how to get there. " Meet us there in say... three day?" That would give all of them some time to get ready, and perhaps Verduth could find a few more people between now and then.

[Trassen]

"I'm not familiar with the place, but I will be there." Trassen said, making a mental note of the directions. "But as for not meeting the right people, What about any people you might have recruited before me? There is no way of knowing how they will react." He warned, acknowledging the fact that his stay with the circus had a decent possibility of being terminated before they planned to leave. "Still, there are at least three days to let them know, if you feel that is bessst. You are the one in charge." He relished the thought of having any form of authority, but ultimately Verduth was a means to an end. It was only a matter of time before he slipped up here, he targeted the wrong person, someone would find him in the middle of one of his 'meals', and next thing he knew, half the town would be hunting him down to kill him on the spot, or worse yet, nominate him for the next elections. He needed a reason to leave before he was lulled into a false sense of security enough to make him get that sloppy.

[Niera]

Minding her own business, Niera lay on the top of a crate out of the way of everything and looked down onto the streets. Having just finished her meal Niera was bored out of her mind, the streets were not in the busiest of times which made it no fun to stir anything up.

Niera lay her head on her paws and sighed, suddenly hearing voices come closer to her. One of the voices was posh and the other voice almost sounded like a snake. Niera's ears shot up, she looked down only to see a pale human, averagely tall, possibly a little smaller than herself. As for the other figure he was gigantic with a strange hat on his head. Oh, hello what's this she thought to herself? What a strange duo.

Managing to identify the voice immediately Niera found she was amused. Although the pale looking man had a sort of predatory feeling about him Niera wasn't that threatened by it, Wagging her bushy tail she stepped silently back onto the crate and closed her eyes, listening in. The pale one seemed to trust the tall hat. How interesting she thought to herself, ah well one of those two is going to get stabbed in the back I might as well watch the show while it's on...