Nice and peaceful, Nabias offers a great place to start your journey or stock up on supplies before heading out to brave the rest of the wilderness out there. They also have Barakka's largest hospital facility to treat all sorts of injuries you could get out there. (+2 Precision)

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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 9:41 AM

“Ooh, I was right about these. You look fantastic,” Senna crowed, though she seemed more pleased with herself than with him. Out of curiosity, Beckett moved over to the mirror, and inspected his new glasses. They were an unusual shape, and they looked odd on him, but not in a bad way. He supposed he would get used to them, given time. They were functional, and didn't look ridiculous, which was all he needed.

“Thank you,” he said to the shopkeeper, who made a 'hmm' in reply. Then, to Senna, he said, “Lodgings are next, correct? And then we begin the search for...” They needed a codeword for Elirian. He may have been a defunct god but he was still one of the original triumvirate. “For our... friend?” he managed. He made a point of ignoring her snort of stifled laughter.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 11:28 AM

“Yes... Then we look for our,” and here she paused gravely, “friend. Our very important friend.” The shopkeeper shot them a strange look, and Beckett ushered Senna out the door.

On the streets of the city, Beckett felt like an alien. It had been strange enough when his vision had been distorted, but now that everything was rendered in detail, he felt even more acutely how far he was from home. The buildings were nothing like he'd ever seen, mostly great tall rectangular structures with flat roofs. Buildings in the Garden had rarely ever exceeded two storeys, but here it was another matter. The materials, the style of the windows, the way the streets were paved, it was all a fresh reminder that he was in another world.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 11:28 AM

And then there were the people. Senna had been right about his hair. He seldom saw a man with hair even long enough to brush his shoulders, let alone the length at which he had kept his own. It was harder to discern the trends of fashion, but her estimate had been much closer than his own. There was not a robe in sight. He had never before seen half the garments he beheld now. Some of the choices seemed downright bizarre to him. Many of the women wore close to nothing, and much of what they did wear hugged the body. The men, in comparison, tended toward more sensible clothing, though some of the youths looked as if they needed a belt.

He spent a good while simply observing them. It was only by the upright propriety of his manner that he was spared the appearance of gaping, though in truth that was more or less what he was doing. He merely managed to do it with his mouth closed, and with his expression never betraying more than mild bemusement.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 11:29 AM

Senna led the way, as was becoming their fashion now. The place at which she finally stopped was old, but not dilapidated. Beckett regarded it with undisguised surprise, and even some pleasure. While not exactly in the Garden's style, the building was much closer to it than anything he had seen thus far. It looked sturdy if not handsome, and the premises were clean. “Come on in,” she said, and walked through the door herself. A man came to greet her, and she smiled and chattered easily to him. Beckett stood off to the side, scrutinizing the furniture and the lighting. It was not what he would have chosen, and was in fact a bit gaudy, but it reminded him of home. He wasn't in any position to turn down such an unexpected comfort.

However, he made sure to watch the proceedings as Senna negotiated the price of their room with the man at the desk. He was already sick of being so helpless in this environment, and the best way to learn was to pay attention. There was definite haggling going on, though each party smiled and played as if they intended nothing of the sort. Beckett frowned. Was that sort of behavior expected? He rarely negotiated prices himself, even back home, but Senna was known to be an avid haggler. Still, if it was a skill he had to learn...
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 11:30 AM

Their rooms were on the ground level. Senna opened the door with a card, which Beckett then demanded she teach him how to do. She looked at him, eyebrows raised, but in the end she just shrugged and handed the card over. It wasn't a difficult thing to learn. He held the card up to the locking mechanism, and the door made a click. He pressed down on the handle and walked in. Senna switched on the lights, after fumbling along the walls for the switch. There were two beds, some wooden drawers, and a hexagonal window on the opposite wall.

Senna immediately opened the door to another room, which was tiled, and held what he took to be a bathtub. There was a small, round washbin built into a shelf on one wall, along which ran a plane of mirror. Finally, there was a... strange sort of seat, made of porcelain, as far as Beckett could tell. He furrowed his brows. “What is that?” he asked.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 11:30 AM

Senna paused for a minute, then realized what he was indicating with his hand. “Oh! Right. Toilets are a new thing. Uh, this is the bathroom. You do your business here,” she said awkwardly. “It's not that exciting; the waste just... goes in the bowl. Look, you'll figure it out.” Her smile looked forced. “Why don't you, um, unpack?”

“I already have. My things are on the far bed,” Beckett said, but she'd closed the door on him in the meantime. He didn't point out that there was almost nothing to unpack in the first place, since he'd left all his clothes at home. She didn't care, evidently, and that had just been an excuse to get him to drop the topic.

What, as if he was going to ask for a demonstration? He huffed softly and rolled his eyes, but she wasn't there to see it.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 12:56 PM

True to her promise, however, as soon as they had settled the issue of their lodgings, the two of them turned to the real issue at hand: searching for the Lord of Stars. Senna sat perched on the edge of her bed, going over the things they knew. “Okay, so... Elirian's missing,” she said. “He was there right up until about yesterday. Irael's looked everywhere in the Garden for him, so he must be in another realm... But our powers haven't gone on the fritz yet so it seems he should be fine at the moment, more or less.” She ticked the points off on her fingers as she spoke.

Beckett was standing by the window, staring out at the people milling around outside. He knew he wasn't likely to find Elirian that way, but he felt as if he ought to make the effort anyhow, to convince himself he was doing something. What Senna had summarized was nearly the extent of their knowledge on the matter, and it was depressingly sparse. Even he, a stranger to the mortal realms as he now was, knew that it was a vast place. Too vast for them to search its entirety in anything remotely resembling a timely manner. If they mobilized the entire population of the Garden staff--- ah, but then who would do their jobs?
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 12:56 PM

“We don't even know why he's gone. We don't know who did this. We don't know if he's being held, or... or even which form he's taken,” Beckett said. He tried to keep the distress from his voice, but even so, he sounded frayed. It was ridiculous, what they were doing. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack, except the needle might be a stick, or a fishbone, or the hair from a cat's tail.

“No, we don't,” Senna chimed. He could hear the thump of her heels as they hit the side of the bed; she was kicking her legs. He wondered that she could remain so calm in the face of all this, but checked himself. It was for the best that she did. Becoming worked up would help neither of them.

“Is there anyone we could... employ, in our search? We are not exactly trained for this, either of us,” Beckett said. Senna made a thoughtful hum.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 12:59 PM

“Oh! There is!” she said. “We could hire a detective, or something. They could be paid to keep this hushed up too, though there's a bit of a snag...” Beckett looked over and inclined his head. “Well, remember the woman at the glasses shop? If our story sounds outlandish, imagine what it would be like trying to convince a detective to help us look for Elirian.”

Beckett sighed. She was right about that, but it was the best idea they had so far, from the way Senna didn't oppose it outright. What else were they to do when they had no idea how to make a start? “We ought to try, at least. Perhaps someone will recognize our conviction and believe us, however unlikely our story. And in the meantime, something may turn up, or we may think of something else,” he said. Senna nodded, though she didn't seem enthusiastic about it.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 1:05 PM

“We're going to be in for a lot of unpleasantness,” she said. It was half resignation, half warning. Beckett nodded in return. But now that they had a plan of action, even a half-hearted one, they could direct their efforts toward something. It made him feel less lost, even though they were in reality no closer to any good news. He was headed for the door when Senna stopped him.

“Detectives is well and good, but you really do need that haircut first,” she said, in a tone that brooked no argument. “If we want to be taken seriously, we're going to need all the help we can get. That means the braid's got to go, I'm afraid.”

That was how Beckett found himself in the chair of a barber shop, with a middle-aged man handing him a magazine full of styles. A younger man with considerably less paunch was undoing his braid, and running his hands experimentally through Beckett's hair. Beckett was ill at ease, but he forced himself to bear with it.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 05/17/2014 1:06 PM

He looked through the magazine with little enthusiasm. It was full of pictures of men, most with more rugged features than his own. There was not one hairstyle that drew his eye in a favorable manner, though there was plenty that made him linger with a disapproving eye. Senna was looking over his shoulder. For the moment, she restrained herself from making suggestions. She had informed him that it would be best if he made his own decision about his hair, since he would have to live with it for a while. It wasn't the same as his clothes, or even his glasses. All of those could be changed relatively quickly. His hair could only ever get shorter.

With that in mind, he looked with more consideration at the longer styles, but there were very few of those. He reached the end of the magazine without having made a decision. Behind him, the haircutter was looking askance at Senna, who shrugged. Beckett studied his own face in the mirror, now framed by his unbound hair. He tried to imagine any of the styles in the magazine on himself, and couldn't.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 06/15/2014 3:44 AM

So he closed his eyes with a sigh, and said, “Give me a style that would suit me. Make it short.” He fought against the urge to regret his decision as soon as the words left his lips, but he'd put them out there. There was no turning back now. He could hear Senna's soft gasp of surprise, and felt slightly irritated by it. Did she think him so vain that he couldn't part with his own hair without making a fuss of it?

… Well, in his defense, he hadn't exactly jumped for joy at the idea of a haircut, and had taken his sweet time making the choice. But still, this was no passing fancy; he was on a search for the Lord of Stars. If this was what it took to blend in with the mortals, then that was that.

The haircutter was playing with his hair again. “How short is 'short', exactly?” he asked dubiously.

“As short as needs be,” Beckett replied. Maybe if he repeated it enough times, he'd get more used to the idea. He still avoided looking at his reflection, deflecting his gaze to one side. “I don't keep up with the fashions. I will trust your judgment here.”
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 06/15/2014 3:45 AM

Beckett tried to reassure himself that the shop looked prosperous. The shopkeepers must know their craft. It only reassured him so much, but he suspected he wouldn't be wholly comfortable until after the haircut was over with. Perhaps not even then. It was hard to say.

At his comment of not keeping up with fashions, the young haircutter allowed himself to roll his eyes, trusting that Beckett couldn't see. He shared an aside glance with Senna, who hid her smirk behind a hand, though her mirth showed clearly in the crinkling of her eyes. Clearly, no man with thoughts of keeping up with trends would be going around with hair to his waist. That hadn't been the trend in decades. Of course, it was Senna who got more amusement out of the deal. The stranger had no idea just how outdated Beckett's standards really were.

“Well, alright,” the haircutter said. Contrary to Beckett's expectations, he didn't begin cutting straight away. First, Beckett had to submit to having his hair washed. That was an indignity he hadn't expected. Beckett was impeccable about his own cleanliness, and his hair had been washed just this morning.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 06/15/2014 3:55 AM

Then again, he had woken up on a beach, and he hadn't had a chance to bathe since then, so there was a good chance that there was sand in his hair. This was the only thing keeping him from raising a fuss about it. When that was done, the haircutter took some scissors to it, chopping off the bulk in a rough shape around his head. At this point, Beckett began to doubt his skills. The result looked ragged and haphazard, so it was good for the shop's reputation as well as Beckett himself that the process hadn't stopped there. The haircutter spent some time clipping up separate locks of Beckett's hair to the top of his head, so that only the bottom-most layers were left down. That, if anything, looked even stranger. Beckett could hear Senna sniggering behind him, and there was a faint 'click' that seemed to come from her direction, but he could ill afford to turn his head at the moment to see what it was she was doing. She was probably up to no good--- this was Senna--- but there wasn't too much mischief she could get into with other people around. That was his hope, anyway. The last thing they needed was to cause trouble with the mortal authorities.

He tried in vain to relax. Closing his eyes helped, but the sound of the scissors were constant. At one point, the haircutter took out a device that buzzed, and Beckett had to fight all his instincts in order to stay still.
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Re: No News is Good News [Self] [M: L]

Postby crow » 06/15/2014 3:55 AM

His knuckles were white from his grip on the armrests of the chair when the buzzing device first made contact with the back of his neck, but there was no pain. There was just a gentle pressure, which moved up and away from him again. It repeated several times, but by the end of it he had gone back to his previous level of mild discomfort, rather than being frozen stiff like a board. The thought that the haircutter knew what he was doing flitted through his head again, but sometimes it was difficult to listen to the logical part of his mind. There were so many unfamiliar things about this place.

He knew that he was going to tire himself out like this, but there was no helping it. He suspected that he would only improve with time. Until then, the best he could hope for was to cope with it as best he could. At least Senna was being mostly helpful, which was a pleasant surprise.

When the haircutter was done with the bottom layer of his hair, he undid a few of the clips. One at a time, he cut these to length before moving onto the next. After undoing the last clip, he adjusted some lengths, looked at his handiwork, and made a few more adjustments.
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