Blue Goes Onward... Way onward Just before you enter the open doorway, you see peripherally that there is a slight glow around the door's frame and in front of you tents and carts surrounded by gray, dirty unsightly buildings. Your steps carry you over the threshold of the doorway into a cacophony of sights and sounds, not at all like the quiet Castle ward district, but more like an outside market, and just as busy. The market ahead of you is in full force, hawkers and peddlers and the pack of sheep that is their prey, dodging hither and yon to various booths that might bear that one item they are so desperately searching for. Off to one side is a post with bulletin's nailed to it's face. A huge square of tents, shops and stalls, and the multitude of sounds including, but not limited to, shouts, clanks, shrieks, barks and whistles and a sea of smells, hot bread, peach perfume, fresh paint makes up this incredible bazaar in front of you. Amongst the bazaar is a huge five storey inn and giving a street's birth all around the bazaar are even more incredible buildings. Dark and looming, numerous storeys tall, all with ornamental iron and stone, gargoyles, rainspouts or sharpened blades form the eaves high overhead. It seems that every space is crammed full with some shop or business. As your gaze continues upward to take in the building's heights, you look into the dreary sky and amidst a gray arc of smoke and smog high overhead, you can see dim shapes looking down at you. Just down the street you see a large laid out building, a billboard out front, proclaiming the name of the place as Chirper's. The streets themselves are cracked pavement intermixed with worn and sooty cobblestone, and off down one sidestreet, you see an area of the street roped off and dug up leaving quite a nice gap in the street. Darrin gapes and says softly, "What the...?" In front of you is a monstrous 12 foot tall muscular humanoid with dark red skin. You would almost mistake him for a giant red man, but for the two heads. One a snarling wolf's head and the other a long prehensile snakes head. Hefted on it's shoulder, is an ornate twin-bladed battleaxe. Elaina look back, searching for the door that bring them there. But she quickly stop searching and face the group with a big smile, "We don't have to hide form the guard anymore" she said softly "We are among friend now! " she add louder, looking very happy. Stratt is standing on it's toes, and the thing is snarling and hissing at the tiny gnome. "What..the..? Where the...?" Was all Gareth manage to say before, he caught sight of the ever curious gnome and the red skin humanoid. "Demon? Out in the open? "Hey, pick on someone your own size, demon." Gareth quickly step up to the creature. Darien is caught by surprise and realizes that everyone stepped through a portal of some sort. He quickly suggests to Gareth that he relax for a second, before things get nasty. <> Stratt looks up at the giant, "Opps, sorry about that." Stratt climbs back down off the giants foot, "Look at this place," Stratt gazes around taking in every color and exotic scent from the scene before him. Cranking his head up at the Giant he calls up to him, "This doesn't look at all like The Humming Wench. Where are we?" Before he can respond, Stratt starts opening his meat pie and take a quick bite. The giant gives a final frown from the wolf's head and stomps off without any answer, heading up the street away from the bazaar. The snakes head hisses over his shoulder at Gareth in a parting shot. Stratt's face turns into an ugly grimace as he bites into a burnt, and greatly soured meat pie. The nice homemade smell that was first so attractive and able to make anyone's stomach growl is gone, replaced with a pungent odor. Upon seeing the beast walk off Brian get's a bloodthirsty look in his eye. He barly notices the meat pie. He almost look's as though he would die, if he could just take the beast with him to hades. "You know where we are, Milady?" Gareth politely asks the fire hair priestress. "Please share with us where in the ninth hell are we?" The young man voice quivers as he watch the strange creature walk away. Elaina reply, "no i don't know where we are. But i know that a wizard must have been following us since we fleed the cityguard. And still probably is looking at us and listening as we speak. And when he saw that we were and trouble and recongnize us as the wanted criminal that we are, he send us to this place. Why? If he wanted to harm us, he could have teleported us to the citywatch headquarter, or kill us. But he did't. We are free and unharm, so i assume that he wanted to help us. And he have probably some plans for us too." then she smile and add "Thank you! whoever you are" "yes, thank you" says Darien. he openly thinks to himself, "perhaps this wizard may be able to help me figure out the past....." "If this FRIEND of ours is a wizard then we better follow that creature." Gareth says with a nod toward the disappearing creature. "Only magic can create something like that. We better hurry before we loose it." Gareth quickly follows the creature. Darrin shakes his head softly, and says quickly, "Why would it bring us here, and then just go away after Stratt steps on it's foot? That makes no sense, Gareth." You can hear a tremble in his voice mixed with the anger. Quickly Darrin takes a deep breath and says without the attitude in his tone, "Sorry, Gareth. I don't know where we are, or how, or why. But I know this isn't Waterdeep. We left a nice spring day, and these buildings are dark and ominous. I've never seen one building like this in Waterdeep." He turns quickly to check the door at your backs, but it's locked or jammed, and he can't pull the door open. You note the fear is still evident in his voice as he spoke. Even as Darrin speaks, and with the large creature steps away from you, you are able to take in the rest of the crowd that is heading into and out from the market area. Included in your vision are: humans half-elves the odd dwarf and halfling a couple of four-legged centaur looking beings, one with horns, the other without one tall skinny pale, yellow-eyed male heading into the bazaar one female, blue tinted human with a tale and scaly skin several other humans? well, close but with each, something is just off... tint of skins vary from green,red,to blue... fingers are short or long, or misnumbered, some even have horns or tails and some have several combinations of the above you see one box like creature... a 3'x3' box sitting on two legs and having two arms with two little wings on the back and a face on the front of the box green, little imps a female with dark flowing tresses wearing a low cut black gown with pointed ears and large white, feathery wings which reach from above her head to her ankles a small troop of eight, bipedal red frogs around 8 feet tall a strange red symbol embedded in their heads Some wear armor, some robes... but almost all wear a dark cloak over their backs. Good thing too, as it starts to splatter big, wet, globby, drops of rain out of the grungy sky above you. Brian pulls his cloak over his face and body, he hisses if a drop touches him.(I hate rain) With mouth gapping wide and eyes wide with horror, Gareth manage to croak out a quivering response, "L-Let's cchheck out those bbbulletins over there to see if we can discern where we are." Darrin nods and actually walks near the bigger fighter as they make their way carefully towards the bulletin board. "Yeah, Gareth... maybe, there's a map or something." He glances warily up at Gareth and says after a noticeable gulp, "We, uh... we just stick together and we'll be just fine, huh?" It's clear he's not just trying to ease Gareth's fear as he's trying to convince himself as well. There is no map, but at least the posts are in common. "Well, I ... I don't know where we are but these strange creatures seem non- hostile enough." The big youth tries desparately to control his nerve. He gulp several times before continuing, "Let's fffind a..a place," he glances nervously at the frogmen, "where we can regroup if we get separated later. Perhaps, Brian can tell us where the heck he's been the last couple of days, huh? elf? We'll brief you on what happened to Ross." "How about that inn there? We all needed rest. I don't think I can walk anymore." Rubbing his tired legs furiously to emphasize the point. "I agree", said Darien. "We should get some rest and plan a little bit more. It'd be better than wandering around in a...'different' place." "Let's go to the inn, i am so tired and hungry." Elaina reply. "We should sleep two in the same room... It will be safer ... don't think i will be able to sleep alone in this ... place" Stratt watches the red man walk off in wide eyed wonder. When he finally realizes his friends have moved off somewhat, he bounces along after them, pausing to stare at each new wonder with a gleeful grin and a bubbly giggle. He waits for a moment as the others read the posted notices, before becoming bored and decides to see what is going on in the marketplace. Good idea, I'll go out for a while.....<> DM: Brian will try to find "Friends" in the city and check for a "Black" market he will also brush up on the laws of this place. As you enter you see a bunch of children straight ahead being chased after by a huge, lumbering mass of sludge, with barely recognizable face and arms. It shambles after the children trying to get them into the booth straight ahead. The children are not any different than the beings you have already seen, some close to human, some half-elven, some even four- legged half human, half goat creatures. To your right you hear oinks and barks and the cackles of geese, all of which seems to be right in time with the excited yells of the children ahead of you. It is quite a cacophony. As you start to make a beeline across the open market, to your right a high pitched voice calls out from behind a crowd, "Oak, yew, Arborean Pine, selection of the month. Good prices... half off the Arborean Pine... Cedar from the Beastlands, just in. Make a deal... " Just ahead of you, you see red bipedal frogs, eight of them, marching forth, each dropping the last of a bright orange lizard into their mouths, their tongues zipping out to catch the last drop of lizard juice on their lips. The disgusting scene made Gareth's neck hair stand straight up. Glancing around, he notices the disappearing gnome. "Hey Statt, please don't wander too far! Meet us at the Inn. We have important things to discuss.!" He hollered at the carefree gnome. Realizing that he had unexpectedly draw attention from the strange crowd, as odd faces turn his way, he quickly pipes down and hastens his steps toward the Inn - not daring even to examine all the exotic and unique shops in the market. Turning to his friends with ashened face, he murmurs, "I don't think we even in Toril anymore." ----- Stratt only at this time... rest of blue is entering under title of bluetosigil1 As you enter the bazaar, just, ahead of you, past a tent with a few children running rampant around it, you can see a half-elf with lightly colored flowing hair down to his shoulders, standing on a crate with close to thirty people listening to his words: "We can all be gods. " All beings are sacred, haloed by the divine, ordained for a greater destiny. Each time we die, we rise again to new life. The multiverse acts as a forge for us, in every life we live. As we are shaped by it, we evolve: from grue to prime, to planar, to power - and then into the unknown sublime. Reincarnation turns the wheel of existence: teaching us, testing us, remaking us." Of the thirty watching, twenty wear a symbol on their sleeves resembling an upside-down sword with a sun rising in the background. There is a mix of human and half-elf in the group and of the others listening to the speaker, some are chuckling lightly and others are grinning or nodding solemnly. Even as he continues to speak, some turn and walk away and others stop to listen for a short time. To your right<1> the sound of animals baying, barking and mewling make for just another distraction in the jumbled mass of persons, while from your left the red bipedal frogs march forth, each with a skewered bright orange lizard on a stick, which most seem to be eating with a great smacking of lips. One comments, "Almost raw, just perfect." The others croak in agreement with shakes off their toad shaped heads. Past the food stand and in front of the half-elven speaker, you see a booth, where one owner is hastily constructing an overhang against the sticky drizzle. Skin tinted a faint blue, he mutters about his sand getting wet. On the table in front of him are numerous open containers of various colored sands, and in some of the containers the sand is sworled together in intricate designs emulating clocks like you see on the top of some temples.<16> The next booth<15> is covered already and it's owner is doing his best to call the speaker's crowd to his booth, crying out his wares, "Hand carved scroll cases! Fine parchment... ink straight from The Beastlands' octopii!" As you approach, this older human's eyes, look straight at your group and he beckons with his arms as he calls out, "Come, come... look to my jink... top quality. Come, come," he adds again. --------- Stratt is trying to see, hear, and smell everything all at once. His head swivels left and then right and left again. He stiffles a yawn when his friends talk about getting a room....perhaps just a short nap is a good idea. He dodges between the legs or other appendages of the market trafficers towards the inn he saw in the distance. He pauses at the door to make sure the others are coming and then opens the front door and walks inside..... Stump will realize he has just been standing there with his mouth open. "Let's get to the Inn I need a whole bunch of drinks". "Stay close and keep your eyes open I am pretty sure there is no one out here who we can trust."