In search of a Lady (open)

[Jerro]

36th of winter

Jerro stood outside of the Pig's Foot Tavern, his first of many stops. It had been about a year since his death, and he had found out nothing. All he knew was that his wife was captured by slavers, and that he had to free her. The slavers had to have stopped here in Sunberth. He knew of it only by reputation, but surely if the tales were true, then they would have tried the slave trade here. He would have to try every auction, whorehouse and place of ill repute in the city. But first things first, he'd have to gather information.

He took a minute to fully materialize himself. He found that people responded better when they couldn't see through you. He looked down at himself. While it was definitely getting easier, he still looked somewhat like an oil painting. A decent one, but still an oil painting nonetheless. Perhaps if he were lucky, they wouldn't have the place well lit and he'd be able to pretend to be alive. He'd have to be careful not to touch anyone, as that would immediately give himself away. He took a deep breath, not exactly necessary but still an oddly reassuring motion, and walked into the tavern. He wasn't sure what to expect, or even how to start.

He glanced around the tavern. Some people had turned to look at the new entry, some were too busy with there own business to take any notice. Some were just too drunk to do anything other than sit there, drinking and babbling or perhaps even sleeping. Or dead. Hopefully the former though. After standing there for a second or two, he carefully made his way to the bar and "sat" down at an already pulled out, but unoccupied stool.

[Flynn Maidrus]

The very first thing Wes had said to her was that she had good eyes. Very good eyes, indeed, too good for a wayside scoundrel. So, while Flynn retreated inside her mind, she always made an extra effort to survey everything she was seeing, effortlessly. It was her lone talent, and quite a good one at that. It was how her eyes picked out the hollowed out form of a ghost no one gave a second glance to. Her thoughts quickly focused on the curious man, what exactly was he doing here? Sunberth was quite hostile to magic and often extended their hate to ghosts, as she learned the hard way. It didn’t take long for her interest to be piqued, and when the fellow ghost materialized and ducked into the Pig’s Foot Tavern, she followed, too. Already materialized, she belatedly remembered walking through walls wasn’t possible anymore, right before she headbutted the tavern wall. Not feeling any pain, she fell without a sound. A few eyed her warily, thinking the girl was a weird drunk. A group of boisterous and happily drunk men stumbled out of the tavern, shouting and giggling. Using them as cover, she quickly changed into respectable dress, making boots to cover her calloused feet and a coat over her ragged dress, something she habitually wore. Her ghost psyche was weirder in more ways than one, as Flynn usually found herself wearing the patched dress, consciously or not. It was the attire she wore when she found herself without a home for the first time, back when she was alive. Flynn stepped inside the tavern and let her eyes wander before pulling out a screeching chair to sit next to the mysterious man. OOCWhat is the timestamp for this thread?

[Jerro]

Jerro hadn't been sitting long before someone else pulled up a seat beside him. He looked over her, she was a small, thin thing. But compared to him, just about everyone was. She was dressed fairly well, better than he was certainly, but something about her that seemed... off. Then her dress flickered, just a tiny bit, like a spark running across the fabric. When he noticed that, other little things began to show through. She was a ghost like him.

He turned back to the bar and thought this over. This gave him mixed feelings. First, she might be able to help him, which was good. Another ghost picking him out in a crowd meant he was being obvious, which was bad. Still, the fact that there was someone who might be able help him won out over any bad feelings he might have, so he decided to stay.

Still, it wouldn't do to scare her off before even getting anything out of her, he'd have to keep calm and not freak her out. He turned back to her and simply said, "Good evening. How are you?"

(OOC: Fixed the previous post to include timestamp.)

[Flynn Maidrus]

The man had glanced at Flynn when she had made her way to the counter. It was probably easy enough to see she was a ghost, especially to another ghost. To others, especially to most residents of Sunberth who hated and feared magic, it might not be so obvious. She just seemed out of place, and Flynn felt truly comfortable surrounded by a crowd who might be rowdy, but not liable to shoving around pitchforks in her face anytime soon. She studied the giant man. At least he knew he was a ghost, as she had seen him consciously materialize earlier. Well, thank Dira she didn’t have to deal with that, telling ghosts that they were dead turned out quite ugly. He seemed stable enough. Flynn wondered what his reason for being alive was. She occasionally saw ghosts around town when she was traveling, none of their backstories pleasant or good. When she sat down, the man immediately greeted her, "Good evening. How are you?" Huh. Usually the people she had extracted stories from didn’t initiate conversation. They were mostly the wary sort, not prone to conversing. Unless they wanted something from her. Perhaps this man was just surprised to meet another ghost in Sunberth. “Hello, the name’s Flynn. What brings you to Sunberth?"

[Jerro]

“Hello, the name’s Flynn. What brings you to Sunberth?" She seemed a little surprised that he had spoken first.

He paused to think for a while. It might not end so well to just blurt out, I'm looking for a slave and there's a really good chance I might try to kill her owner afterwards. Then again, this was Sunberth. Perhaps part of the truth would be best. "I'm Jerro. I'm... looking for someone. I'm trying to find some answers, she might not even be here. It's just that for what happened to her... she's most likely to end up here."

[Flynn Maidrus]

At this, Flynn gave a wolfish grin. It seemed they had more than common, other than the obvious, than she had thought. She studied the cautious expression on Jerro’s face, perhaps even his lips were drawn tight if she looked hard enough, but she could’ve been imagining it. “Huh, coincidences, coincidences,” she crooned. “I’m looking for someone as well, except he’s not in Sunberth, I’m sure of it. He detested the slave market. Said it made him queasy,” Flynn pursed her lips and tapped her chin, letting a questioning look take over her face, “What is such a nice lady possibly doing in Sunberth? Kidnapped? Or is she the darker, more illicit type?” She let out a barking laugh, “I can see the charm. She obviously means a lot to you if you’re venturing out to Sunberth. But,” Flynn gestured at Jerro’s giant form, “you won’t meet any trouble here you can’t fix with a good punch. Not that you can actually punch, now. But, if you haven’t noticed already, a word of warning: Sunberth isn’t one of those cities that accept ghosts with a welcoming hug. Best not to show your true form and stick to floating above the roofs if possible.”

[Jerro]

He almost laughed at her last comment. "I doubt there's really anywhere where ghosts are openly welcome. At least nowhere where there are more living than dead." He didn't really want to have to resort to floating though. It's not that he was afraid of heights (after all, he was already dead, not much else they could really do) it was just that he felt much better with his feet planted firmly on the ground... to use the term loosely.

"If you aren't near the slave market, then I doubt you could help me. But..." Still, if there was any chance, any at all, he would gladly take it. "I'm looking for my wife. She was captured by slavers and me... well, you can see for yourself what they did to me. She's actually a Konti. She just walked up to my farm one day and decided to stay. I couldn't just say no and turn her out. She helped me, and in return I gave her a place to stay and food to eat. Things eventually became more serious, but it didn't last long. She's has pale blonde hair that shines in the sun, and her eyes are like two green emeralds. She is absolutely beautiful..."

Jerro's eyes became misty, and a warm smile came across his face as he remembered her, her laugh, the way she moved, everything. His eyes weren't the only thing that was getting misty though, as he reminisced about her, he slowly lost his focus and began to dematerialize. Something shortly snapped him out of it, and he realized he had began to sink into his seat! He floated back into a proper position and began to make himself more solid again. His shirt began to change the color of pink, like it seemed to do often when he embarrassed himself, but he quickly switched it back to his normal, neutral grey color.

"Sorry about that. Anyway, her name is Irae. If you could tell me anything, I would be grateful." He looked down at the floor. Had he said too much? He knew that Sunberth was a dangerous place, and that anyone there could possibly turn on him, but for some reason he trusted this girl. "And just maybe I could help you too. Between two people like us, I doubt anyone could stay hidden for long."

[Flynn Maidrus]

“No, ghosts aren’t really welcome at all. But in some places, they are common and tolerated. Black Rock’s a nice place, full of ghosts, and there’s a place there that serves decent Soulmist. You should go there sometime, maybe, if you still want to be alive once you've found her," Flynn suggested. Hm, she thought while Jerro described his wife and why he was here, in hostile Sunberth, a Konti. That would fetch a high price, perhaps thousands of gold mizas. The slave traders won’t let go of that easily. Perhaps the Konti would even do her a favor, foreseeing the future to Flynn’s benefit once they rescued her. She didn’t like the quieter Konti, much. Too pristine, too fragile, and too glass-like. She had liked her Konti friends personally, but the collective quiet character trait of the race disturbed her. Flynn pondered on while Jerro had a moment of nostalgia, What kind of Konti gift does this woman have? What kind of sight? Is she even alive? “No, no problem. It’s nothing, ghosts get moments like that all the time,” Flynn looked down, Irae, Irae... where could I have heard that name? “If a Konti is caught as a slave, that would be big news, indeed. Besides checking the Sunberth’s slave market, there’s another shipment of slaves coming in tomorrow morning. Best be early, the slavers of Sunberth, might get to her first, especially Tiandra. Though this is just speculation, Brega the Whore might know something, she’s quite sharp, though there’s no guarantee she’ll help you. If you don’t find Irae in Sunberth, there’s another slave market in Ravok. While you’re there it might be worth talking to the Ravosalamen, the canal rowers, who keep their ear out for a price.” Flynn twirled and rubbed her hair between her fingers, thinking, “It should be quite easy to find your wife, if she hasn’t been sold. How long ago was it that your wife was captured, and that you died?”

[Jerro]

Jerro looked down at the floor again and was quiet for a while. Finally, he said, "I've been dead for about a year now. I'd have caught up to them sooner, but it took me a while to... regain my senses. By the time I was back to normal, their trail was cold. I'm only hoping that I can find out if she's been here. I doubt she'll still be here, but I have to try." He closed his eyes and just focused on staying completely materialized. He mentally noted all of the names that Flynn had told him. Tiandra, Brega the Whore, the Ravosalamen of Ravok. He noted the new shipement of slaves, but almost immediately dismissed it. She probably wouldn't be in a new shipment, she'd probably already be sold to someone.

[Flynn Maidrus]

“A year?" Flynn leaned back in her chair, adjusted her legs,a booted heel making the figure four on her thigh.“Irae has probably been passing through the hands of slavers at increasingly higher prices or has already been sold. What kind of vision and gift does she have?” Her excitement waned. If Irae was still a slave, as her price was a hefty one, she would probably be in Sunberth out of all the slave markets. But who wouldn’t snatch the Konti right up, given the funds? The man’s prospects looked dim. Jerro was interesting enough, sure, but the man had a purpose and probably wasn’t up for dallying about with tales. It had taken him such a while for him to tell her how long he’d been dead, anyway. Perhaps she could accompany him to the slave market, see it through to the end, but she was reluctant to get into any trouble with the fiendish slavers.