transport log » ❝ welcome to Exsilium ❞

[initiates]

Date & Time: Sept 23rd, 2012.
Location: The Initiative Hold & Courtyard.
Characters: Everyone.
Summary: New Transports have all arrived and have been shuffled into the Courtyard after their initial briefings.
Warnings: None.

You've just been hustled and bustled through mazes of information and literal, wide corridors of the Initiative Hold and you've been equipped with your weapon—be it a gun, a sword, or even your existing powers. They've handed you this light netbook and a small pouch of coins (or a debit card, if you're more inclined), and there are several Transports before and after you going through the very same motions. You can hear the Greeter's voice as she walks alongside large groups, telling them all about the history of this place and sharing with you your purpose here in a hurried and urgent tone. "This isn't standard," she's saying, walking perhaps faster than most of the people she's dragging around. "We don't normally have so many Transports at once. Please, let me show you into the courtyard."

You pass what looks like huge gymnasiums, all with dummies and targets strewn and splayed around the room. Training areas. There are even classrooms, and a few small offices. You're rushed past a large library while the Greeter informs you that you can find almost all your information there, if you've got the time to look—and trust her, you'll have time. You don't spend a lot of time in the bank, and it's a bit of a blur of exchanges with more and more of these strangely-accented and oddly polite-seeming members of the Initiative.

Soon enough, you're in a massive courtyard bustling with all the other Transports. It's not exactly what you'd expect, and it looks more like barracks than anything—huge walls of concrete and stone, separating you from all of the hallways you'd just passed through. It's raining heavily, and dark clouds loom in the air. It's a chill cold, and there are shelters—long cloth hangings that extend from the walls of concrete to house you from the rain, but not enough. Most notably, the courtyard is filled with a marketplace. Even in the cold and the rain, there are several citizens seated at their covered booths and tables. They're selling all manner of their own handmade goods and foods, and citizens and Transports alike are traveling from one small covered shop to another in search of all manner of necessities.

The Greeter's voice has become so faint now, but you swear you can make it out in the back of the crowds as she tells you, "Good luck. Be safe!"

Her voice is drowned out by the busy marketplace, though even the transactions taking place are somewhat subdued. Nobody is overly happy, really, though most citizens can be found with smiles on their faces. It doesn't seem like they're that shocked to see you, either; even if you're not bound in tattered rags and wrapped in heavy shawls as they are. You're welcome to walk up to a shop, and find yourself something to eat—hey, maybe you'll even find something akin to a raincoat. Or, you can join the others under the coverings against the walls. Where am I? What war? She was talking so fast, and it didn't all make very much sense… did anyone else catch it all?

Welcome to the courtyard. Welcome to the Initiative Hold—and most importantly, welcome to Exsilium.

Comments

[onblackwings]

[ ...Okay, what in the world. She spends more time staring at Collette's chair than she does at Collette, like she can't possibly imagine any use for it. Maybe the girl is just supremely lazy. She glances down at the bag as Collette gives a number, and then back up at her again, and just... looks confused. Especially at that word-torrent that follows. Holy crap, she can barely even keep up.

She blinks slowly, opens her mouth to answer— and pauses. She shouldn't give her name. Not her real name, that seems unwise. She shifts as she considers her answer, slipping the bag and its coins into her pocket, and her fingers brush the blade of the dagger she'd picked up earlier as she does.

That will do. ]

Dagger. [ Wow, Khisanth, only took you like 20 minutes to answer. ]

[whatsupcroc]

[ Collette was close to 99% sure this woman might be mute by the time she actually says her name. Then again, with a name like Dagger, maybe the pause was for a certain level of impressive anticipation or something. No, she knew it! Intimidation.

From bathrobe woman. ]

Nice to meet you, Dagger! Uh...

[ She glances down toward her feet. ]

I was being serious. You're not just in that bathrobe, are you?

[onblackwings]

[ Oh, god, more questions she doesn't understand. Her brow furrows, but in a few seconds she's dug up the memory of the human who had given her her clothing. She'd called it a "robe", hadn't she? Something like that. Khisanth had barely been listening. So "bathrobe" must refer to the same thing, then.

She glances down at the collar of the robe, one hand lifting to run fingers along it. ]

You mean this? It's... [ How does she even answer this question? ] ...What else would I be in?

[whatsupcroc]

Uh... clothes? Haha, I mean I won't say you can't wear a bathrobe everywhere if you want, but I bet it gets cold! Plus, what kind of shoes are you going to ear? Boots don't go well with bathrobes. Slippers are useless in the rain!

[ Collette gestures to what she's wearing (shirt, pants, something under the shirt that's visible around her neckline, and neatly laced tennis shoes. ]

Something warmer is more practical. Like this, or whatever anyone else who's been here for a while is wearing.

[onblackwings]

[ She glances around, like she's just now noticing that not everyone is dressed in a bathrobe. Finally she loos back at Collette, no less suspicious. ]

Where do I find that?

[whatsupcroc]

In shops, or at one of the stalls here. Like that lady, you see the one with the funky straw hat? She sells pretty decent pants. I think she and her husband actually do all the sewing themselves! They're nice and sturdy, but not rough and scratchy or anything like that. If you use the marques they gave you -- the money in the bag -- you can buy whatever you like from the stalls.

[ Sort... of... Collette wonders where this lady is from. ]

You've never had to get clothes on your own before?

[onblackwings]

[ Why oh why does this girl talk so much? Oh jeez she hadn't thought humans would be this verbose, this is kender territory. ...Not that she would know, having never met a kender, but she'd always assumed. She glances at the aforementioned stall, then down to her bag of coins — marques? — and then finally back at Collette, with a frown.

Shit, getting clothes is probably a pretty common human thing, isn't it? THINKIN FAST. ]

I've always gotten them... other ways. I've never had to do it myself.

[whatsupcroc]

It's not too hard, once you get a hang of it! I can point you toward some of the nicer places here in the courtyard. To get you started at least.

[ Maybe she was from a nudist colony... ]

[onblackwings]

No, I can find them.

[ Or at least, she should be able to find them. Especially if they're all just laying around here. That should be easy enough, right? Without another word she starts forward, attention fully captured by fresh examination of the nearby vendors. ]

[whatsupcroc]

GOod luck!

[ Collette watches her leave... and decides after a while that maybe she wants to also go that way.

For shopping and stuff.

+ 1 teen browsing and keeping an eye on the woman who is either a thief or a misplaced nudist or maybe a princess!

Named Dagger?

... Hey, it worked! ]

[onblackwings]

[ That doesn't go unnoticed. That... chair thing is hard to miss, after all. Khisanth ignores her for a while, but after a few minutes of browsing, during which Collette still hasn't left her peripheral vision, Khisanth finally clenches her fist in a scarf she'd been distractedly examining and turns, firmly, to face her. ]

What?

[whatsupcroc]

[ Collette raises an eyebrow after turning to meet Khisanth. Turning her head at least. ]

What what?

[onblackwings]

[ Oh, now she's just being cheeky. Khisanth scowls, storming toward her. Scarf still in hands, oops, this just became stolen merchandise. ]

You're following me.

[whatsupcroc]

[ Collette points at the scarf in her hand. Uh! ]

Wait, did you pay for that?

[onblackwings]

[ She glances down at the scarf, looks temporarily bemused, and then turns her frown onto Collette again. Dammit, she won't be sidetracked! ]

Answer my question.

[whatsupcroc]

I think that guy thinks you didn't pay for it.

[ There's at least one merchant waving his hands around emphatically in front of his face. He's kind of turning purple.

Woah. People could turn that color. ]

[onblackwings]

[ She glances back, and— oh, shit. That's... a little alarming, even if she could just change shapes and rip the stupid human apart. Somehow, in this shape, it seems like a little bigger of a deal to have someone loudly upset at her. She leans a little closer to Collette, eyes on the merchant. ]

I didn't, though— what do I do?

[whatsupcroc]

[ Collette looks up at Dagger, then smiles and waves at the merchant. ]

You walked further away with his stuff than he wanted you to without handing over a few of those coins you were counting earlier. Here, watch, we can get him to stop.

[ She clears her throat, then just as suddenly, she's loudly calling back. ]

You're right, Dagger, that does match your eyes! I had no idea you could find colors that pretty around here. How much did he say it was?

[ Mr. Merchant is confused, if his arm waving loses some intensity. The fact neither girl is booking it isn't enough to get him to ditch the suspicion.

He calls back a cost. Collette looks up to Khisanth. ]

You should probably pay him now.

[onblackwings]

[ Unfamiliar with everything human as she is, at least she catches on quickly to lying. It doesn't take her long to see the strategy here, and so she looks almost natural when she heads back to the merchant and digs out the appropriate amount of coins. And then she's... left with a scarf. She looks a little unsure, making her way back to Collette again. ]

...I would rather have kept the coins.

[whatsupcroc]

I wasn't kidding when I said the scarf does look good with your eyes. They're pretty, you know?

[ Collette smiles. ]

You'll get more coins in a little while. The Initiative has an allowance for us, which is really more a paid wage for being here and fighting for them at some point in the future. You're not used to doing a lot of this kind of stuff, are you? Are you sure you're not a princess from a really, really far away land?

[onblackwings]

[ Oh. Well. As long as Collette is slipping in a compliment with it, then maybe the scarf isn't that bad. She lifts it and, not really sure what else to do with it, just sort of jams it into a pocket. She'll... figure that out later.

The question gets a darkly amused little smile, which seems more natural than the annoyed confusion on her face. ]

I'm definitely not a princess.

[whatsupcroc]

Huh! Something about you reminds me of Jasmine.

[ Which she thinks is a wonderful sort of nickname for Dagger, now that she's stumbled on it. ]

I was heading this way to stop by the umbrella vendor. Were you planning on getting a full outfit to go with that scarf?

[ Collette glances down toward Dagger's feet. ]

Maybe some shoes? There's a pretty cool guy who works with making custom boots. He's kind of expensive, but if you want something that fits really well, it's worth talking to him when you have the spare money! You can get a pair of cheap flip-flops from the lady down by the far corner. SHe makes them herself!