City of Decadence

[Mia §]

The trio walked out of the portal, finding themselves under an unbearably hot sun. For a moment, Zella would be compelled to shield her eyes as the sun bounced off of the sand beneath her feet, but soon adapted to the contrast of Meridian where they had just left. Even after a moment the dry heat of the sun in the sky did not seem so oppressive.

They had arrived amongst a small outcropping of trees with a road before them. Few travelers made their way upon it, all seemed to be human, covered in flowing robes, turbans, and scarves to protect themselves from the heat. Curiously she'd step out from the treeline.

Had they arrived in Terra? This certainly wasn't Los Angeles, and while sand was prominent along the Ivory Coast the people here did not appear to be the same race. Nor did they appear to use modern weaponry.

All seemed to be travelling east bound, and looking down the road they travelled upon she could see why. Far off into the distance was the sea, or at least what she could perceive to be the sea. If it were not for the large ships that could be seen at this distance she would've question it to be a trickery of the heat playing off of the sand. But it was the city in the distance that was most impressive. The walls surrounding the city were high, yet higher still was a palace that rose above all within the center. The golden minaret flared in the sun. Even from this distance one could make out five towers with a rainbow like sheen.

It felt familiar somehow, and yet Zella knew she had never travelled to a place like this.

"Nathan? Niwyn? Do you know where we might be? Do you recognize it?"

"Calimport!"

Zella's attention snapped back to the road where a small caravan had stopped not too far away. A man in robes had begun to walk towards her.

"I beg your pardon?"

He'd stop and hold up his hands with a chuckle, leaning a bit to observe who it was she talking to as he had not originally seen Nathan or Niwyn, only Zella standing out by herself.

"My apologies. You do not know where you are? I was concerned and stopped my caravan to make sure you were alright as you appeared to be lost and standing out in the hot sun by yourself. I see you are not alone. But to answer your question, you are not far from the city of Calimport."

Zella paused, tilting her head to the side. "Calimport. Calimport within Calimshan. That is the Shining Sea?"

No wonder it felt familiar. Her small village was near the Misty Forest. She had not travelled any farther south than Troll Hills, but the city of Calimport was quite well known as it rivaled trade with Waterdeep. Nathan had gotten them back to Faerun. How interesting.

The robed man would take another look at the gnome and young man who accompanied the lost girl. Pale with white hair. Not from the deserts. Were they elves? The girl did not appear to be so but he could not see the boy's ears from this distance. It did not matter.

"Are you alright? We are headed to Calimport. If you wish to ride on our carts you would be welcome. I fear you may have a touch of sun. It is dangerous to become addled here in the desert. Come, we have water."

[darkheart]

Nathan would look up to the sun, soaking the rays slowly into his face with a deep breath. The sword had done its job and gotten them to the right universe, but the distortion had put them in the wrong realm. It didn't matter - Faerun was close enough for now. Calimport was no stranger to him, after all. It was one of the seediest dens of corruption in this rotten place and thus good for business. Niwyn would beam, grabbing Zella's hand and jumping up and down while holding it, her pigtails flopping around merrily. Faerun was home for her and Zella - world familiar and not so fucked up. She was about to speak when she felt a tingle along her spine. Pausing her excited antics for a moment, she looked down at the sand beneath her feet. Small portions of the golden granules were moving like small rivers, sliding across Nathan's shoes and under his pant legs. Moving like blood in rewind, it snaked up under his clothes, washing over his body. As it moved down his wrists to his hands, a pack of cigarettes slowly formed in one, a lighter in the other. Snaking up his face, they spun in small swirls to form sunglasses across his eyes. His clothes would shimmer crimson, moving from the dark rain cloak and jeans to a smart silver blue suit. His hair would slowly fall out, then grow into a tight outcropping on the top with the sides shaved to accommodate the sun and heat.

"Calimport. I have been gone too long to not be recognized, it seems. There was a time when you would not speak to me so casually. Even the Black Raiders would not approach me unarmed and without respect, and the amlakkar would keep their distance. Tell me...that you speak to women so freely, you intend to ply us with kindness and water and then kill me whilst you drug the women...using them for pleasure, then selling them for slaves, no? Foolish."

Niwyn's hand would tremble slightly in Zella's as she felt something she had not felt quite so keenly before. The man's body would twich, then crumple like an aluminum can crushed by an invisible fist. His internal organs would liquify and spray out his eyes, nose and mouth, as well as the tears in his skin where his ribs, arms and legs broke through. The arterial spray would splatter against an invisible wall of force in front of Niwyn and Zella, inches from their faces but not actually soiling them. While the force of the bioempathy and its results did not unnerve the gnome, it was that there were no tendrils through the air that she could sense. It was as if the power localized on the man across the 20 feet between him and Nathan. There were no strands to sever, no blocking the action. Even her father had not been able to accomplish such a feat. But even more horrifying than that, the man was not dead. Held in a suspended form of life, the wreck of a body still gurgled and gasped, conscious and aware of what was taking place. After a brief moment, the blood would start to move backwards as if watching a video being rewound, flesh and bone straightening as the man returned to normal. Nathan would turn, his face devoid of any emotion as he slowly strolled up to the one that had addressed him. His voice was cool as ice, his tone flat and dispassionate.

"You will prepare water and food without drugs or poisons, and we will ride with you. You will take us to the Emerald Ward and leave us with enough gold to maintain comfortability for a week, being grateful that we leave you with your lives and do not bleed you dry. You will tell no one of what you have seen, not even your pasha and especially not his vizier. If you violate the terms of our contract, I will kill everyone in your caravan and spend the next month doing to their families what I have done to you. You do not need to acknowledge my words with your own. In truth, your voice grates on me. You will simply comply or die. Now go and prepare."

He would release the man from his hold, rapping the pack of cigarettes against his palm a few times, then opening it. Raising one to his lips, he'd ignite it with the lighter, then slip the pack and lighter into his suit coat pocket. As he did, a shoulder holster with a 1911 .45 could clearly be seen. Exhaling slowly, he looked at the city.

"What did the old Blackstaff say? 'I care about Calimport as much as I care not to step on a viper. It is vile place of tangled intrigues miles thick that end up in the few profiting over the many.' What a cesspit. Zella, watch yourself here. As a woman you are nothing but property unless you rule the underworld or slave trade. Niwyn...well, I'm guessing you've done enough wetwork here to be familiar. I have a portal outpost here in the Emerald Ward. We can use it to get home, I think, if it hasn't fallen to disrepair. We might have to stay a few days to get everything dusted off. Meridian was bad for the threats we could see. Calimport...well, here you don't know you're dead until the poisoned knife enters your back. Welcome to where Kil'atha and I first set up shop on this rock...Let's go."

[Mia §]

Zella smiled, opening up her hand to Niwyn as she took hold of hers, watching her jump up and down with glee. Yes, this was home. It was a world full of dangers and horrors but it was the world in which she grew up. She understood it for what it was. Terra with it's ice makers, mobile phones, and mechanical noises were fascinating and she did ever so much want to learn more about it and the family she didn't know she had, but Faerun was familiar and would always be home.

Zella would open her mouth to respond to the man before her, but Nathan began to speak atop her. She'd stop and just turn to him curiously. Niwyn's tremble and nervous energy would not be lost on her, nor would the sensations she was getting off of her Brother. Similar to Mia, but so much more refined. Stronger. Mia already caused her worry and she had not had an opportunity to ask yet what truly was going on.

Just like that the man imploded upon himself, Zella's response would be to jump back at least 5 feet, taking Niwyn with her as the mound of writhing goo gurgled and spat before them. The caravan still upon the road would see this happening too. One of the riding horses reared, an ox pulling a cart attempted to bolt, stopped by the men who began to cry out in another language as the straps and shaft holding the beast on the left side broke. The handful of men quickly went to repair it, at least trying to flee together, their frantic noise quieting in shock as their comrade reformed from the goo. They trembled.

The man who had come to greet them only shook where he stood, staring almost blankly with white eyes at Nathan's shoes, afraid to look anywhere else. When he was given his order to prepare he'd nod, try to turn but end up falling backwards. He'd scramble, get back to his feet, almost make it to the road before stopping to throw up.

Zella only stood there and watched as the man scrambled away, the look on her face a mixture of confusion, disappointment, and concern. She heard Nathan telling her to watch herself, but she seemed troubled.

"That.... That was unnecessary." She'd say calmly, and she'd look over to Nathan with what could be taken as hurt in her gaze.

"Please do not think me naïve. I was raised to recognize evil in this world. I could literally smell his intentions. Even if I could I would never have done... that."

She'd motion to the indention in the sand where the man was crushed and then uncrushed before her eyes. Then she'd sigh. Technically the man was physically okay from the ordeal, and yes he was a bad man that will likely reconsider his life of crime going forward. Yes him and his men will not consider hurting them and likely take them where they want to go without incident. And what would she have done? Declined their invitation and walked the several miles to Calimport. If they took no for an answer she would've fought them off and tried not to kill them unless necessary. Which likely would've only drawn more attention to them. Ugh. Gods nothing in this family is black and white and everything has consequences. Perhaps it just bothered her that it was too easy for him to simply... squish a man. She had been raised to believe that only people with evil in their hearts could do such unspeakable horrors without issue on their conscious.

She'd pinch her nose between her eyes and then just shrug. Maybe she was overreacting. She wasn't really certain herself anymore. She'd offer instead a tired smile.

"I am sorry. Forget I said anything. Shall we?"

She'd walk away towards the caravan, leaving Nathan and Niwyn to follow when they were ready. One of the men waited, trembling with a water skin in hand ready for her.

"I need twin sabers, can you provide....?" The man nodded, dropping the water skin in his haste to find them. Zella was quick enough to snatch it out of the air, motioning for the man to continue on.

[darkheart]

Nathan would listen to Zella in silence, catching the look of hurt with a perked brow. He never forgot anything. Ever. For someone left in the care of Athina's 'cult', Zella seemed decidedly averse to the violence that surrounded that woman. She must be weak - he would have to either toughen her up or dominate her. Yes, she would make a good slave. He would have to rewire the neural pathways in her brain and make her submissive to him like the good little dog that she was. Pity, it was so rare to find actual competent individuals that had the will to do what needed to be done. Mia would understand, but this cheap copy, well, he'd just have to break her and....

*CRACK*

His head would snap to the side as the little gnome jumped up and bitch slapped him hard across the cheek so hard his cigarette flew several feet away to land in the sand. Turning his face back to stare at Niwyn, his sunglasses a kilter on his nose so that that one eye shown above the tilted frames, he stared in shock as the little gnome trembled in front of him - half in fear, half in anger.

"Snap out of it! I know that look - Something happened to you in Meridian. You've never had 'their' feel since I met you in the Underdark, now you reek of 'them.' It pains me to do this, but I have to...for your own good."

She would reach up to touch his forehead as he'd done to the other Mia, but instead of a sense of calm, she would be flung back away from him as if she'd touched a high voltage circuit. Landing in the sand, she'd stare up at him in fear and horror. He, too, would looked shocked and confused.

"You...you didn't do that to me, did you? No, you'd never - not even subconsciously. Something's going on. You need help..."

Nathan would cough uncomfortably, trying to maintain his normal even, calm look as he straightened out his sunglasses. Moving over to his half sister, he'd offer a hand. She'd flinch at first, then realize he was back to being himself and take the hand up slowly. As they touched she would feel the souls of this world's Kalak'mal recoil away from him. Was this where her fear was coming from? Was it their fear? The gnome had always been unshakable - damn near suicidal. To feel these sensations were foreign to her and definitely concerning. And she had achieved her separatory balance through a decade of training and will - she could use bioempathy herself without the voices or the draw to evil. Whatever had a hold on him was different - something even the raging souls she tapped into were unnerved by. She had never more wished for her father to be here. Whatever command Nihilano had over bioempathy, her father had learned to understand the connection in far more subtle and effective ways and had taught her how to separate herself from the curse. But this, this was something different entirely. Niwyn would steel herself, then, and look up at Nathan with a deadly calm.

"We'll figure this out later, but sooner than later. But if you try to harm Zella, I will kill you. You know. Again."

Nathan would frown. He would never harm his family. Would he? He didn't remember thinking that he wanted to, but he also knew Niwyn was too bold to be deceptive. Coughing again, he nodded quietly to her.

"Let's just be off. There's nothing in Calimport that will get us to the bottom of this. And yet, I feel that our being here is not just random coincidence. I have this nagging feeling that something waits for us in the city, and if we do not find it we will only wind up here again."

He would ruffle Niwyn's hair tenderly, then, eliciting an involuntary giggle from her despite the severity of the exchange. Taking her hand, he would stroll with her towards where Zella had gone and hop onto one of the carts, dismissing the fear and horror of the slavers.

"You're on point, Zells. Let's get to this den of sin and degradation and get on with it! You lot - she's in charge now, you understand? Disobey her and I won't put you back together afterwards!"

Winnie could sense that he didn't mean it this time, though the slavers were too scared to recognize the bluff. She'd grab a waterskin from the supplies, then loose her cloak as a strong updraft carried her to the sky like a flying squirrel. She would watch from above to ensure no ambushes awaited and take the necessary alone time to contemplate what had just happened.

[Mia §]

Though she couldn't hear, Zella had caught the exchange between Nathan and Niwyn. The slap was obvious, at least to her. The slavers were all too scared to look in his direction. She had felt that kind of fear when in Meridian and that world's version of their Mother. Something instinctual that would tell the subconscious to look away lest the nightmare be real. This didn't seem like their Mother's power.

She'd lift the water skin to her lips, watching as Nathan and Niwyn walked back towards the caravan. Zella only turned her eyes away when the original man returned with two scimitars and a long flowing scarf of purple and green. She'd thank him, and take a moment to wrap the scarf about her head after tying back her hair. Even if the sun did not seem to bother her, it would at least help in blending in.

The caravan seemed to wait on baited breath upon Nathan's word that Zella was in charge, and they looked to her anxiously. She'd give a solemn nod.

"Lets be off."

They wouldn't need a second command, the carts would begin to roll making their way towards Calimport. She'd hop onto the back of the same cart Nathan had made himself comfortable in. She'd watch him for a moment. His smell had returned back to normal, or at least as normal as it was before they left Meridian. It was perhaps a good time to speak.

"You say.... you were in Meridian for the last 7 years? Hm. From the moment you vanished, to the moment Niwyn and I were transported to you, I would say only 7 hours had passed. Give or take."

She'd look to him, turning so she could sit comfortably with her back against the side of the cart.

"If that time difference still holds true it means you have yet to become a Father. There is still a chance you could make it to witness your children being born. But first, perhaps you'd like to share what happened to you in Meridian? While I believe you are in fact 'our' Nathan, and not another version, something has clearly happened while you were away."

[darkheart]

He would watch as Zella hopped in next to him, and as the cart swayed back and forth gently along the trail ruts, he would be lulled into a relaxed state. Taking a pull from the water skin, he would look to the sky and take a deep breath. The silence would hang heavy for several moments as he pieced his thoughts together, occasionally wincing at the pain of the memories as he tried to peel back the defensive and pensive layers of his old deceptive nature. This was his sister, after all - and while he normally was only forthright with Sera and Mia, he owed her the truth if they were ever to embrace each other as kin. He would look to her beautiful heterochromatic eyes that clearly ensured that she was not actually Mia, staring into their depths for a long moment.

"It would seem, sister, that I have inherited some of my father's power, though I do not fully understand it. It was not until Atreyu was sealed that it manifested. Perhaps like Nihilano and Morsus, with their curse being genetic, so to is mine. A cosmic balance of sorts. I do not know that you and Mia have a similar state, as you were separated from the same soul as Vespyr and Morsus were. Only Morsus took the brunt of Mystral's damnation. So too with Niwyn and I - only I seem to have the burden of the plague of Atreyu. It leaves my blood cold to wonder what curse my Aunt Ahanna might bear. Yet listen to me ramble without actually answering your question. When I was pulled from this existence to the one from whence we just traveled, like my father I was not simply pulled between realities, but also time streams. However you came to move between planes you moved linearly - like a straight line through 2 dimensions of space. I moved through four, and thus I was pulled back in time. Strangely, my age is relative to my movement - I was seven years younger. It is why I have not aged due to the movements. It was disorienting, to say the least. I don't wonder if it has something to do with when my copy died in that world as to being the point at which I arrived - a sort of balancing of the equation. It is likely also why I did not collapse the reality during the time - there was no true paradox of existence, and so the variables in the grand equation of reality was not unbalanced as I was simply moved from one calculation to the next - like with alchemy - no matter lost or gained, simply transferred.

As to where I landed, it was hard to tell. It was in the desert somewhere, and it was clear that there had once been a structure there. However, it had long vanished. By the base imprint it was a cube, or perhaps a pyramid, but the base was square. It had not been eroded in the sands, it looked as if it were simply there one moment and gone the next. But one thing I knew, an old curse had returned. To understand it, you would have to understand the history of the Solavi Sunelf culture. While I don't wish to retell the story, know that your grandfather sealed a great evil away at a great cost, but rather than purify it or eradicate it, he allowed it to be tapped into for great power. It is this power that manifests in Mia. It had, at one time, manifested in me as well. However I lost access to it when Mia, Mother and I rescued your father from it's curse. Everything being in balance, this power allows for staggering control of reality, but comes at a cost. The souls of many evil beings are held in a sort of stasis and tapped into, but they in turn have access to you. They are able to whisper into your mind thoughts of great pain and evil, seeking to consume you. Worse yet, if you are connected to them upon your death, your soul is pulled to their realm where they can torture you and feed from you for eternity. This was Nihilano's fate, the one we pulled him from. He is still destined to return some day, but for now he has a reprieve. Mia, too, is bound for such a fate. I do not know how, but my father was able to purify the link - allowing for him to use this power, which Nihilano has christened 'bioempathy,' but remove the influence of those to offer it. Niwyn, it would seem, cannot purify the link like he can, but has found a way to sever the link completely in her own case, and perhaps in others. She attempted just a while ago to do it to me, but was unable. I have much to think on the causality and mechanics of that."

He would take another drink of water, swallowing hard and wincing as if trying to swallow something more than water that did not choke down easily.

"In any event, upon being in the desert, the voices set upon me. They were stronger somehow - not held in check as they are here. I am ashamed to say that I went nearly mad amongst the sands for two, maybe three years before I began to gain the strength to exert my own will again. The...the atrocities I committed are....well let's just say that if I get to see Sera again she does not try to view them. What I did to that slaver merchant was a mercy compared to the havoc I wreaked as their puppet. We call them the 'Kalak'mal," the souls of the beings trapped that we consume to actuate bioempathy. I was their puppet. But I digress. Once I regained my will, I sought to find something familiar - something I knew. I traveled from place to place, world to world for a few years until I found Meridian. I hid there amongst the shadows, finding out what our family was in that reality, trying to solve the mystery of how to get back where I belonged. With their Niwyn dead and our family being what it was, I had little in the way of help. I traded favors with the resistance, House Elamshinae, and others to keep a low profile while getting the portals connected. However, it wasn't until you and Winnie showed up that I could access what I needed. You distracted the Puhrmann household enough to create a gap in their attention and to allow Atreyu to have enough confidence to commit his treachery. It was enough of a gap to wriggle through, and here we are.

In truth, I long to see Seraphina again, and to greet my children, but I do not know how I am to face her. I promised her to put these ways behind me - promised Lilith that I would not drag her into this darkness again. I am not entirely sure I can look either of them in the eyes once more after....after...."

He would look away in anger and sadness, drinking the last of his waterskin as if he were trying to wash clean his soul with the water that entered his mouth. He found his grit, however, looking Zella in the eye with a steeled determination that rang as cold as ice in a polar ice storm and as piercing as a drow assassins' stiletto's between the shoulder blades.

"What I believe is happening, however is that I am still connected to the Kalak'mal of that place, and perhaps as a conduit the Kalak'mal of this place as well. You must promise me, Zella, that if I do not figure out how to sever this or, perhaps even worse, if the Kalak'mal try to abuse this mutuality to break free of their prison - you must kill me before that happens. I fear to think what would happen if they were released, and I do not think Mia could bear the strain. If I start to turn into something....wrong....you grab Morsus, you grab Winnie and you put me down before I become a threat to anyone else. Hell, you grab Lilith if you have to. I must think of my daughters to come. I must think of Sera and you and Mia and your brothers. I am a danger to this world, Zella. While I am trying to sort this out, I need to know that you will do this for me. We cannot risk the alternative."

[Danü Rèalta]

This was a lot to unpack for Zella, but it did answer a few of her questions. For one, what the Djinn was talking about in reference to Mia that night. What exactly was wrong with her and why this Faruq told her to speak to her Father. If that night hadn't been some strange stress induced dream involving mermaids and murder. It explained what had happened to her Brother, where he had been, and what he had been through. Why he smelled different yet the same and why he had acted so out of character from when they had first met. She wondered too if it did not have bearing on her own upbringing.

She had been given to Athina Despana to raise, only to be given to Viconia, a Darksong Knight within the order of Eilistraee. Viconia's repulsion by demons had been felt by Zella as she grew up, as the Drowess gave her only the smallest hints of her heritage, those hints being that she was descended from a demon and that she should work extra hard to not give in to the monster in her blood. She always assumed it was her Mother they referred to, given the subtle feline traits she possessed, but she wondered now what Viconia and Athina knew of her Father. Could this trait through blood also be what she was told to fight against.

Her heart beat heavily in her chest with some empathy at Nathan's words as he begged this horrible favor of her. Her face would remain solemn as she reached out to take his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I promise. I will not allow you to become a monster. But this is not the first choice. What can I do to help sever this connection? For not only your sake, but for the rest of our family."

She'd look up then, the wagon passing a line of dunes that finally opened up a full view of the city of Calimport. Despite it's seedy history the city itself was shining and from this distance looked beautiful in the sun. Tents and wagons began to line the main road leading into the city, mostly vendors selling their wares. Children began to laugh and run alongside the wagons while the drivers barked at them to move out of the way lest they be ran over. The driver had a job to do, and he would not be stopped.

Perhaps most curiously would be a woman standing amongst the throng of people as they passed through the gate. Hair of purple with tanned skin and grey eyes, she'd watch them curiously as they passed, only to vanish like a mirage as a camel and rider moved in front of her and the wagon.

[darkheart]

Nathan would relax as they entered the city. Away from the desert the caravan would be less likely to start anything shady while on the main path. He would ponder Zella's questions and think, answering her while still mostly musing to himself.

"With Illereas incapacitated at present and my father in Malfeas, I don't honestly know what can be done. The secrets of bioempathy have been closely guarded by my family for 3 generations now. Therein there is precious little written down about it and even less passed on through oral tradition. Winne has discovered the basis of sealing the connection and has already tried it without success. I've refined several aspects of the art, but never tried to break the connection. It was broken for me and I always thought it a gift that it was, so I ceased my research on the subject. In fact, the only ones who are accessible to ask are Nihilano, Ahanna and Rieta. Nihilano is too stupid to grasp the finer details, I'm afraid. I don't mean to judge him, but of all of us he is more like Morsus than he'd like to admit. Ahanna I cannot trust - I think she harbors madness. So I suppose I am left to Rieta to determine what plausible methodologies we could employ. That would require going to Solavi which we simply don't have time for. The only thing I know for sure is that music is somehow part of the process, as strange as it seems. Bioempathy works on frequencies, as I tried to teach Mia. The Solavi native language is also a song, from what I've gathered anyway. I've never heard it, but it is mentioned and the ancient texts that my father has stored in Oghma are written in song. It's quite a conundrum. For now, we'll just have to keep working at getting home - the path forward lies in the path back, I'd imagine. If you want to know how something is to end, best always to start at the beginning."

*~*~*~*

The purple haired woman would vanish from sight, and as she turned a corner she would feel a tug on the silken pant legs of her lower garments. Leaning against the wall would be a small gnome with pink pigtails inspecting the edge of a silver kukri. Her tone would be pleasant but pointed as she addressed the woman.

"Somethin' catch your eye on the caravan, sister? Saw you took an unusual interest in it. Call me crazy because, well, I am a touch crazy, but you aren't just curious. Spotted you a mile away from the sky. Now what say you tell me what you're thinking, hm?"

[Danü Rèalta]

"Then perhaps it is a blessing you are married to a nightingale." Zella shrugged, recalling the way Seraphina used her voice against Atreyu, her almost sing-song quality, and the nickname the not-our-Nathan had called her. Zella may have remained neutral in that fight, and all other instances of violence that took place in that house, but she was very observant.

"We just need to get home. We'll find more answers there."

She'd pull her knees to her chest, watching him as he mused, her eyes darting briefly to the sky, taking note of the direction Winnie descended.

----------

The woman rounded the corner and stopped short of the small gnome with the silver kukri. She'd smile, holding her hands out to her sides to display they held no weapons. A large sheathed kirpan rested comfortably from her belt within easy drawing distance.

"What I am thinking? I am thinking it odd to see two... pardon... three, clean, well dressed, and unscathed travelers riding with the Sand Scarabs. I am thinking, what business do they have here? I am thinking, could it be a business prospect?"

She'd arch a slender brow, looking to the little gnome curiously with that same, easy going smile.

"Does this answer your question? Sister?"

[Niwyn Bleu]

Niwyn would smirk, shaking her head with a wolfish glare in her eyes - something that would mirror a cousin of hers. She stalked in a slow circle around the woman, tapping the tip of her kukri on her chin in feigned consideration. Before she could speak a static would rise along the back of her neck, snapping and popping gently as her eyes went a stark saphire blue, engulfing even the whites. She would blink a few times, her mouth agape. Her mouth would whisper one word in a Terran southern USA accent.

"Goddess."

She would cough suddenly as her eyes faded back to normal, staggering slightly as if weakened immensely. Her words would hold their edge, though the will behind it was audibly diminished.

"Yeah, yeah. Go on then. I know you're lying, but I'm watching you. Lucky for you, I have other business suddenly. Off with you then."

She would turn away from the purple haired woman suddenly and duck into an alleyway. Pulling out a small pendant, she snapped it open and reconfigured a few things from memory. Snapping it back together, she had one chance at this. Raising her hand to the sky, a small portion darkened and with a large boom of thunder, a bold of lightning shot down. Timing it, the little gnome tossed her re-calibrated portal pendant into the stream of electricity and it activated as it vaporized. She could only save one, and it was going to be a lottery. As the multidimensional portal snapped open, she quickly reached in and grabbed a collar, yanking back hard and pulling a body through before the energy immediately became unstable and the portal collapsed. 

"Here fishy fishy! Who'd we get?"

Looking down at the mess of hair, Niwyn pulled it from the face it covered.

"Lady Max! Congratulations! I've saved you from certain Armageddon! Hm. Poor Z'ress. But then, we've already got one, so I suppose this is just as well. At least I didn't get that creepy Ivan! Welcome to Calimport in our world -  your's is set to collapse any minute now. C'mon. My family's over here - might as well join up you lucky ducky!"

She would strut back around and into the street, waving and calling out to Nate and Zella.

"Um...surprise! Don't ask - but, uh, Lady Max is here! Yay!"

[Danü Rèalta]

The purple haired woman seemed unbothered by the knife wielding gnome as she paced around her. If anything, she seemed amused. There was a twinkle in her gaze, not of false confidence that one so diminutive approach her, but the wonder of a potential challenge.

Then something happened. The gnome twitched and spoke in a voice that, for a moment, didn't seem her own. Fascinating. She'd place a hand upon her chin and just watch as the steam seemed to let out of her new little friend, only to have her scamper off. She'd tisk.

"I do not lie. Such a pity. Until next time little flower."

She'd smile coyly and slip away into the streets.

----------

The caravan's pace had slowed down considerably as they entered the streets as they made their way through the throngs of people. The drivers over the wagons barking orders for people to move, urged on by the fear their important clients had instilled within them to get the travelers to their destination as quickly as possible.

Zella would hear Winnie before she'd see the little gnome strut proudly out of the crowd with a familiar face in tow.

"What a surprise. Welcome Lady Max." She'd move so the woman could join them on the wagon should she so choose. "I am going to assume your presence here does not conflict with this world."

She'd smile softly, though hoped there would be no issues. She did not recall a Lady Max being mentioned in this world.

A few more noisy moments and the wagons would pass the main throng of people and merchants that crowded around the city gates, making their way into the city proper. The pace would pick up now they did not have many obstacles in their way.

"The Emerald Ward is just ahead. Is there a specific place you wish to be dropped off?"

[darkheart]

Nathan would nod quietly, having been lost in thought for what seemed an eternity. There was a shimmer behind his eyes as if he was looking elsewhere - perhaps the future or the past? Shaking himself back to reality, he coughed uncomfortably and looked back to the present reality.

"Indeed. We're looking for an import/export business called the Black Rose. It's one of my assets in this city, if it's still around. I feel like I've neglected this world for entirely too long. We'll have to see."

*~*~*

The cart would pull up to a dilapidated and shuttered business amongst the bustling street of commerce - it was almost an eye sore by this point, and clearly had not been inhabited for entirely too long. Perhaps it was a miracle no one had moved in and renovated the place, and yet perhaps the sheer notoriety of the rumors of its owner had kept the greedy and enterprising people from daring. Outside of the jingle of coin in one's pockets, the only motivation stronger than a quick coin in this city was its years of superstition and occultism. The place had a faint smell of rotting leather and rusted steel, but otherwise seemed a point of darkness amongst the glitter of gold and the clamor of haggling on the street. Nathan would step to the door and shake the knob, and the rotting would would groan and complain as the door opened - mercifully it did not fall off the hinges.

There was a thick layer of dust covering everything in what would have appeared to be a foreign melee weapon shop. Most of the counters and racks had fallen in to disrepair and a few of the glass cases had been shattered by enterprising and courageous thieves that had dared to brave the ire of the stench of death that pervaded the place. One could see footprints in the dust where it had been cased before selecting the magic weaponry from the mundane in what might have once been a thriving shop. Nathan would move behind the main counter and search for a hidden panel, placing his finger there and there would be a series of beeps. A section of the floor in back covered by a threadbare and moth-eaten run would open, the aforementioned run falling into an unseen basement with a puff of dust and a dull thud. He would move his hand around and find a small lever, pulling it and a small alcove in the wall behind him would open, showing some hidden stock that had not been found. He'd look over it quietly, then shrug and move towards the basement opening with a quiet and foregone wave to be followed. Winnie would move to the opening in the wall and grin from ear to ear, pulling out a set of concealed wrist sheathes with a pair of throwing daggers in them. Putting them on, she'd look to Zella with a grin and a shrug.

"Waste not, want not! I feel like these could have belonged to me in another life! Amiright?"

The basement would be a different story altogether. The air purifiers had been working off the solar panel generators on the roof and the room had a slight ionic smell of cleaned air and silicon. In the corner was a dormant portal and a series of computer screens. Nathan would move to them, booting them up as the LED lights flickered to life and the screens began to run startup sequences. It was outdated compared to some of his other portal dens, but it was clear that this was likely one of his first bases of operations. Looking to the wall, there was a picture of a very young Nathan and a strangely happy Kil'atha flashing devilish grins outside the shop in an immortal memento of when they had begun their network of dark and questionable deeds. Running his fingertips over the glass sadly, he said a prayer for the soul of his friend and then turned to Zella, Niwyn and Max with a flourish of his wrist presenting the place.

"Welcome to the Black Rose. We can find our way home from here, whenever we're ready. But if you want to stay in the city for a little while, I won't argue. I'm sure I can find a few enterprising young souls to renovate the place and get her back in business. And an extra day or two doesn't seem too strange to me. I'll send a message to Sera to let her know we're okay. Once you're prepared, we can head home. But Calimport offers many comforts and opportunities, so a visit shouldn't be squandered. Perhaps Sera will even come to join us. I can't recall if she's ever even been here. So...what's the plan?"

[Danü Rèalta]

The rest of the trip had been quiet, relatively speaking. Both Nathan and Max seemed quiet and retrospective with Niwyn flitting around here and there with moon shaped eyes of intrigue. Zella saw no need to interrupt the ambiance of the street and it's people with needless words. She instead laced her fingers behind her head and leaned back. She'd take in a deep breath and closed her eyes, but not before shifting her gaze towards the sun when quick movement crossed in front of it atop one of the buildings. Zella hummed slightly to herself with a small smile as she got comfortable, just listening.

The rocking of the cart as it came to a full stop would cue Zella to open her eyes. She'd stand to her feet and hop gracefully out of the back of the cart. Once the others had gathered their belongings, and whatever else Niwyn undoubtably pocketed, she'd instruct their envoy to leave. A command they didn't need to hear more than once as the cart driver immediately took off with a snap of the reins.

Zella stepped in, seeming to casually take in the environment as she idly ran a fingertip through an inch of dust and sand that piled atop the abandoned inventory and cabnitry. But there were things here her sensitive senses were picking up. One such oddity was the slight hum of electronics coming from somewhere within the building. A sound she might've mistaken for something else had she not spent time in the more modern world of Terra where the sound was everywhere. Her assumptions confirmed after Nathan pressed a few buttons to open the hidden alcove and stairway, filling the darkened room with the unnatural smells and sounds of another world.

She'd walk over, catching Niwyn's excited gaze as she moved into the alcove and plucked the wrist sheathes out of storage. Zella chuckled.

"It is as if they were made for you. Perhaps they were."

She'd smile and move into the alcove herself, setting the scimitars procured from the caravan off to the side as something else had caught her eyes. Two idential scabbard bound blades with a moon emblem upon them. Gently she'd pull one partially from the scabbard and the sound of sweet music touched her ears. She'd replace it back within it's scabbard and pick them both up. Nothing seemed to be a coincidence. With that she would follow Nathan, Niwyn, and Max down the stairs to the otherworldly basement, taking it in and offering a nod when Nathan asked what the plan was.

"If we are in no rush, then perhaps a couple of days would be well advised. It would allow me the chance to contact my extended family here and let them know I have yet to fall victim to the evil ways of my biological family."

A small amused smile touched her lips and she'd glance in Niwyn's direction.

"There yet be some good here."

Faint footsteps caught Zella's attention, her head tilting gently to the side. It came from above. Someone small and light nosing around the upper portion of the Black Rose. Footsteps she had heard before when they were trying to be less careful.

"Excuse me a moment....."

[darkheart]

The little gnome would set to work on the portal, pulling wires and circuits, rerouting I/O wiring, and cleaning dust bunnies out of cooling fans all the while cursing in any number of languages. The portal was a hot mess of obsolescence and she didn't want any magnetic interference to send part of her to one realm and other parts asunder. While she did offer a grim giggle at the thought of what the multiple OS Seraphina's would register if a myriad of dismemberment arrived an any number of hubs, she figured such a death was not glorious enough for her and was to be avoided. She would have to update a majority of the tech after a good scrubbing to ensure multiple levels of redundant efficiency, and so she would continue to self-occupy for a time.

Nathan, on the other hand, would find a pen and paper, scribbling down math and coordinates and rechecking the calculations. After the math was done, he began to scribble in the margins while he re-ran the simulation in his mind. It helped to utilize multiple parts of his brain to distract himself from the dull emptiness of reality. Amidst the formulae and calculus, he jotted words to a poem that filled his mind.

When Life at last winds down, our threads abruptly cut,
Time itself stands still within our mournful gaze.
A dewdrop on a rose, our time that shines so bright,
Evaporates to naught, passing in a haze.
We long to touch the petals of our soft and fragile home
yet rise unto the sky no longer to be seen,
To drift gently in the wind
As if we'd never been.
Will we miss the rose, and shall it mourn our loss,
Where once we rested gentle within its touch and care?
Or shall it soak the sun that illuminates the sky,
And pass its time anew as if we weren't there?
The truth shall lie between, in memory and loss,
A moment that will hold, 'til next our paths shall cross.
For all that rises onward in glory and in pain,
Shall fall to us once more as gentle as the rain.

He tapped his pen against the corner of the notebook in thought, then lifted his eyes to the ceiling as he heard Zella's muffled address. Sighing gently, he laid the pen and pad on a desk gently and rose from his chair. Placing his hands into his pockets, he moved gently upstairs to see who had come to call in the shop that no one should have bothered to peruse.

[Mia §]

Zella slipped silently back upstairs, watching as the little rat stuffed his pockets and rifled through the alcove. He couldn't have been more than a 10 year old human. He'd snicker and turn, only to run face first into cross armed Zella. She'd stare down, tilting her head gently to the side with a raised brow. The boy would gasp and attempt to side step the woman standing before him, but Zella was much faster and easily blocked his path, keeping him stuck in the alcove.

"Following us?"

The boy stammered, trying to think of something clever, but only barking out a threat.

"You can't touch me! Do you know who I run with? You'll be dead!"

Zella only shook her head. "I do not know."

"Byzantium cross!" The boy told her, to which Zella would only shrug.

"I have not heard of this group. What is your name? Why are you stealing?"

Again the boy would stutter, his eyes going wide. This time he'd try to push the woman, who was a lot stronger than she looked.

"Just. Just move! I'll drop the stuff! I swear!"