You New Around Here?(Till)

[Karc]

Karc gave a tilted smile, saying in a joking manner "Its a date then.", stood up and stretched, reaching down under the table he gathered his weapons, and cloak. Putting his cloak on he placed the payment on the table, he glanced at Till, "Lead the way I will follow." He gave Till a icy smile, "And no funny business." OOCLead the way and Karc will follow, except if you do anything suspicious

[Till]

Had he been a little less familiar with people, Till might have missed the quiet threat in Karc's smile. "Of course," he said, and wondered whether he had misjudged this man, and grinned a sickly sort of grin. "We just need to stop by Nicolo's to rent one." They made walked down further toward the front of the docks, and Till led Karc to Nicolo's Ravosalas. In five chimes they found an open one, manned by a withered old lady with arthritic hands. Or perhaps it was a man. It was difficult to be sure. "Take us past the House of Eternal Pleasures," he told her, "the Temple of the Black Sun, and drop us off at the Vitrax." She gave them a look that told them what she thought of tourists, but all she grunted "two gold for trip there." She held up a pair of fingers to demonstrate, then doubled it. "Another two coming back."

[Karc]

Karc stepped forward, "I will give you half of it now and half when we are finished at the Vitrax." He held out two coins. She swiped the coins out of his hand, a scowl on her face. She clambered into the boat motioning for them to get in. Once they where both in, she pushed away from the docks, starting the long trip though it seemed a great labored to her. Once they where underway he turned to Till, "So could you explain Ravok's layout to me?"

[Till]

They drifted across the water. Sometimes, he thought. This woman has to adjust her course around the bodies. The water seemed dark, and their passing left a whisper of a ripple trailing behind them. They drifted beneath a great stone bridge, with the protruding face of Rhy'sol staring over them. "When I was young," he whispered as they embarked. "My mother told me that he could see through the eyes of every statue in this place." His features were everywhere; carved into buildings, above alleys. All Black Suns, and the many faces of the God of Chaos. The old woman grunted in approval, but did not turn from her work. "You know the docks," he told Karc, but described it anyway. "Many businesses make their homes here." He pointed. "That's Odds and Ends. They can offer you most essential things that you'll need. You know Nicolo's now." He pointed out The Silver Sliver as they passed it by, the Offices of the NHC . . . "The Docks are split into two parts. The one you know, the one I've shown you, is called the Nitrozian Plaza." They drifted through the water, and Till fell silent. "That," he said, in a quiet voice. "Is the Plaza of Dark Delights." It was not much to look at, really. The windows may have been a little darker, sure, and the people walking there might have been a little shadier. "Some brothels operate there," he said. ". . . Different sorts of shops, too. It's also where the slave market is."

[Karc]

Karc listened as Till talked, his eyes drifting over the eerie visages. He listened as Till talked his eyes roaming over it all trying to make a mental note of the places. As they came upon The Plaza of Dark Delights, Karc glanced over it all taking in the whole feeling of the place, it felt dark. He glanced at till as he mentioned different shops. "Different?" He glanced at Till an eyebrow raised.

[Till]

Till glanced back at Karc and raised an eyebrow. "Differently acquired goods," he said. The corner of his mouth tilted up in a smirk, and he turned away, his voice almost playful. "Some poisons too, and . . ." He paused, suddenly reluctant. " . . . tools for the aspiring wizard." "You can find the merchant ring over that way," he waved to the side. "I don't need to tell you what you'll find in the merchant's ring." "We're getting closer to the center of the city," he said, his voice low, and it was hard to say whether it was reverent or afraid. They drifted closer, and one by one a quartet of domes rose over the skyline, rising over the skyline. They passed the last building and were greeted by a full view of it; grand white marble with high arches, heavily decorated with frescos and stone sculptures ranging from beautiful to terrifying. "That," Till said, "Is the Temple of the Black Sun. There's a black shard in the center. An object of his power." "Though I'm you must have heard about it, coming here." Till was dismissive. "They must tell stories."

[Karc]

Karc nodded as Till explained looking at the dark shops. Might be useful... Karc nodded half listening to the mans words, half matching what he was saying with the images he saw before him. His eyes glanced upward following Aero's flight above the roof tops. I wonder how you see things... He started as till mentioned them nearing the center of the city. his eyes traced the domes, wondering how many people it would have taken to build it, and as the full building came into view Karc's breath caught in his throat, the only thing coming to mind Dark Terrifying Beauty. He glanced at Till wondering at his words. "A black shard? A shard of what? Rhysol?" At the mention of stories he shook his head "No. I have not heard many stories about this place."

[Till]

"You haven't?" He said, alarmed. How could he not . . . ? Perhaps in the Sea of Grass they did not tell stories about Ravok. The thought was oddly disheartening to Till. "I don't know what the shard is made of," he said. "No one knows, except maybe the Voice. And Rhy'sol, of course." "That shard is the heart of the city," he gestured toward it. "The Voice convinced Rhy'sol that the greatest way to further chaos in a chaotic world would be through chaos, but executed by a hand with purpose. A place of order born to spread chaos." "Ravok," Till said, very quietly. "The shard was all there was, once, and no one remembers how it came to be. Then Voice built the temple, and the city spread from there." He licked his lips. "We are likely the only ones who are safe from him."

[Karc]

Karc gave Till an odd look. "Thats quite an odd way to look at it. Make order to make chaos?" He shrugged, who can fathom a god. "Well I guess we are less likely to be noticed if we remain in plain site." He glanced at the temple "So where do I become a citizen?"

[Till]

"It was not Rhy'sol's plan. I don't think he could have managed that one. It was the Voice who proposed the plan to him." Till had no love for his dark God, but the Voice was something altogether different. "She managed to convince him. She managed to make this," he gestured. "All this." He listened to Karc's question on citizenship. "All told I'm not sure," Till repeated. He had said it before, and it irritated him that he had to repeat himself. "But I believe you can start at the Vitrax. If nothing else they will tell you where to go." The home of the Ebonstryfe. Till took a long, shuddering breath. "It's also near the center. Should not be long." Their guide whispered obscenities and pushed them further through the canals. They pushed past a statue of an impressive man in the center of the canal, and around it. Behind it was a rectangular building of stone, far more plain and practical than the Temple of the Black Sun ever was. "Here we are."