Chapter 1 - Summer

At the Mouth of the Seeding Alley | The Three Musketeers ~
You pass a few drunk townsfolk stumbling away from the alley, giddy and flush with wine.

One of the sleepy-eyed fellows tracks your approach and raises a hand to stop you. His suspicion of folk he's never seen before plan on his face. He points a sausage sized finger at your waists. "No blades." He points to a barrel that's positioned behind his partner.

His partner smiles a gapped tooth smile.

"Take 'em off and put 'em in there." He's referencing the barrel.

"Not a problem gentlemen, we're all just here to have a good time." Looking at the other swords in the barrel, "Is there a ticketing system, how do know we get the right one back?"

Letting loose a grin, "I kid, I kid" and places his rapier in the barrel. Issac steps aside, waiting for Aloys and Elaine to do the same. "Come now friends, let's not keep these gents waiting. The quicker we get through, the quicker we get to party."

Looking back at the bouncers' scars, he blurts out "I've a friend I think you lot might get along with." and chuckles, before catching himself, with a slightly shamed look on his face.

The Mouth of the Seedy Alley ~

Issac ~ The humor is lost on the bouncers--in fact they look at each other, trying decide, as a team, if they're being mocked or not.

Gap-Tooth shrugs. "Well let's get you through right quick," he says in a timbre much higher than you'd expect.

"Stand here," he points at the ground in front of him, "and spread your arms. It's no blades of any sort." If Issac complies the man will begin his pat down.

Elaine is clearly skeptical at being searched, but doesn't oppose it beyond a slight furrowing of her brows - even if she were to keep her weapon, she highly doubts it would save her in case of a drunken brawl or some other sort of unpleasantness common to such establishments. Her skill with fighting is not her strongest, after all...

The Alley ~

Elaine, the bouncer finishes patting you down, after you've added your rapier to the barrel. "Clean," he says of Elaine as he moves on to Aloys.


Gap-Tooth is taking his time with Issac. See if finds this funny. Patting harder than he needs to.

Hoping to distract the bouncer enough to keep him from finding the concealed throwing daggers, "Say, Gap-Tooth, if you want, I've got some great moisturizing products that will really help with those scars. I imagine it's tough finding a date with your face looking like a cartography map carved out by a drunk."

The Alley, Suddenly Feeling too Crowded (crit fail) ~ The bouncers face goes beet red. He sputters, then his hands dart to grab the collar of Issacs shirt.

"What did you say to me you little rat?!" Spittle flies from his mouth as he shouts. He looks ready to punch you.

"Hector, no! He's just tryin' to rile you up!" He joins the frisk. "To hide...this." His hand comes into contact with the hidden blade.

He stares dagger at Issac, but turns to Elaine.


Elaine ~

The bouncer motions to you and Aloys. "You two are free to enter, but yer friend ain't going in there tonight. An' he's lucky he's keeping his teeth."

A small queue of embarrassed looking townsfolk is forming at the alley mouth...

Issac puts up his hands and with a playful grin, "Can't blame a fella for trying. I'll just take my things and go.". Grabbing his rapier from the barrel, a more serious tone toward his companions "Do be careful in there, and don't party too hard."

Issac walks away, heading toward where they initially stopped at a safe distance to scope out the entrance, and plans his next move.

Elaine almost squeaks as the bouncer turns to her, barely managing to save face by disguising her reaction as a cough and quickly backing away towards the alley - but not without sending a slightly panicked look after Issac first. At least Aloys is still here, so she still wouldn't need to do any talking... And maybe she can pretend to be at home here, just like with noble banquets: fake it till you make it, pretend to know what you're doing and speak as if you have full right to be there. She can do that.

After a brief hesitation, Elaine takes a few steps into the darkness of the alleyway, trying to focus on curiosity over discomfort. She is indeed curious about what exactly his place is, after all - a black market, perhaps? A den of local criminal element, no doubt, but what kind... Maybe if nothing else, she can find some forgery tools here... Just in case.

Inside the Seedy Building | Elaine and Aloys ~
A small but heavy door, at the end of the alley, opens for you. As you pass through, you're thrust into another world.

The converted warehouse is one massive open space, high ceilinged, and heavy beamed. The floor is dotted with large, felt covered tables where dozens of folk play overly complicated card games. Servers carry drinks from the massive, blocky bar in the back to the gamblers and scattered about the room. A far corner of the space is occupied by recessed alcoves where blurry eyed townsfolk smoke from long, bone and wood pipes. The air smells of sweet wine, dirty coin, and bitter herbs.

There seems to be no singualr class of people represented here--to your eye there are aristocrats elbow to elbow with laborers and guilds folk; off duty town guards gambling with persons whom you'd assume live outside the law; and farmers sharing drinks with city dwellers, judging by their garb.

Elaine, you'd notice, within the first few moments since you've entered, several "under the table" transactions occur as well.

And of course, cat-eyed toughs, slowly walking through keeping an eye on everything.

There's also a stair in the back that leads up to what was likely once a supervisor's office.

To Elaine, "Where to begin? Perhaps a drink and a few games are in order?" He chuckles.

Outside the Gambling Den | Issac ~ Issac, you'd note that with a little effort, the farside of the warehouse wall is scalable. There is no telling what's up there, but you can certainly climb it!

Further investigation (walking round the buildings) could reveal other ways forward...the call is yours!

Issac makes note of the warehouse wall pretty sure that's doable but let's just see what other options there are as he makes his way further down to see if there's an easier way inside.

The Alleys Surrounding the Gambling Den | Issac ~Issac, you'd notice there are windows, low to the ground that look to lead into a basement of some sort. They appear to be barred, but rather rusted. The room they lead to is dark.

There is a third option Issac discovers; what is it?

Elaine looks around with cautious interest, her resolve slightly bolstered by the presence of aristocracy-adjacent folk, the smells of pipe weed and wine reminding her of her own father. Though she doubts that Count de Valien would approve of this particular place, he always loved a good smoke. To Elaine herself it mostly seems too much of distraction.

"It's not a bad idea," she murmurs in response to Aloys, completely serious despite his playful tone. "Blending in might prove useful if we are to find this person; I'm not sure I want to risk asking around without prior reconnaissance." Elaine glances at the surrounding tables again, trying to figure out if there is anyone who might seem like Julia Sardou, as well as to see if there is any group with primarily noble presence. She'd feel better dealing with her own ilk, even if they are more likely to be suspicious and pose a problem in the future. Perhaps someone young, wasting their time and losing their parents' money, overly confident and thus easy to fool...

Going past the basement and a short walk later, he hears voices coming from up ahead and around the corner of the building. He peeks around and notices a covered, large wagon in the alleyway, with several workers carrying goods from the wagon into the various areas of business the building over. They seem to be boxes of food, barrels of liquor, and other items needed to keep the bars and restaurants hopping throughout the night.