What the immigration office didn’t know about Blake, was that he did not have a shady history.

  Of course, they (nor Blake) knew that the guy off to his left once tried and failed to run a BBQ’d Prawns cart a few years back. But neither case is very dramatic, so why are we even mentioning it?

  There were good reasons they didn’t know these things about Blake though (unless they had been doing some coincidentally accurate random scrying on the side).  One would be the fact that, as Blake wasn’t exactly intending to do that whole ‘become a citizen’ thing right now, and possibly not later either, he had no reason to consult with immigration services in the first place.

  Well, unless that reputed oh so understanding openness to all people and races etc to Unity city only applied to those who unified themselves with the city officially and abandoning their original homes.  But that would be silly, and they’d never get any visitors or much in the way of business relations that way.

  ‘Of course, it’s not nonstop personal parts dropping off freezing here, so it could have it’s upshots if it were the case.’ Blake thought to himself as he finished considering the general situation of the city, and ridiculous speculations regarding.  ‘And today I learn there are Hafling shifters’ He further considers as he looks past the shorty short Fox at the previously mentioned immigration office.  Wouldn’t hurt to look into the place later at least, to see if their standards really were low enough to accept him.

21:00, Today: Blake rolled 19 using 1d20+18. Blake, for giggles History Check T10. (off to my traditional start.  Thank goodness you can’t crit fail a skill check)
21:01, Today: Blake rolled 21 using 1d20+15. Blake, for giggles StreetWise T10.

An orc in chain mail approaches, grumbling to himself something about "'civic duty' my green behind."

"Welcome to Unity, Traveler," he says with a forced smile, "May I see your passport?"

He holds out his hand expectantly.

(To those characters who aren't native, the city guard would have directed them to the immigration office for a temporary travel visa / passport...  But the office is as crowded and confusing as any modern bureaucracy.)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:04, Tue 28 Oct 2008.

As Gilant is one of those who have just been allowed into the city, he is still suspicious that anyone familiar with Githyanki like him, would likely know that most Githyanki are xenophobic and hostile, although those are two traits that Gilant lacks. However Gilant still hopes that no one will find issue with his race here. Gilant wonders if he is the only Githyanki that has to come to Unity, at least with peaceful intentions that is.

When the orc asks for people's passports, it draws the attention of a tall and gaunt humanoid wearing fine, but simple, clothing that covers most of his body, including a hood which obscures much of his profile. What can be seen of this individual reveals that he has almost skeletal features, and that he definitely is not native to the area.

Gilant pulls out the papers and looks at them, before holding them out with his right hand. After all they are the papers he received at the immigration officer as Gilant wonders if the what he has heard about Unity is true. "I believe you mean these?"

With his left hand, Gilant brushes a stray strand of hair his dark silvery hair out of his face as he glances around and almost seems to grin at the wide variety of races present here.

A shifter in full plate armor named Mittens approaches with a cheerful spring in her step, holding an official looking scroll in her hand.  She ear-twitches in curiosity at the very interesting mix of uncommon races standing in stark contrast next to the unassuming Blake.

"Wow!" she thinks to herself, "And here I thought I was gunna be out of place!"

She stands by, official scroll clearly in view, patiently waiting for Grall to finish his business before interrupting.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:43, Tue 28 Oct 2008.

Grall glances at Mittens and returns his gaze to Gilant's passport.  He impatiently motions his left hand indicating he wants her to hand over the document which she does.

"STUDENT!" Grall roars in amusement, reading aloud what's written in the 'occupation' field of Gilant's papers, "Student of battle.  I can tell.  You seek audience with the renowned blade-master Derek I'll wager.  Sorry to burst your bubble, Gilant, but Mr. High-And-Mighty doesn't give audience to just anyone..."

He hands Gilant his papers back, then holds up his finger with a glace to Blake, Emerald, and Gilant, indicating "one sec," then begins reading the paper Mittens handed him.

"So you're a for-real Githyanki," he continues, his eyes darting back-and-forth across the page, "No offense, but I thought you guys were a myth, the kind of stuff you tell little ones at night to scare them out of their...  OH FOR TEMPUS' SAKE!"

He clenches his fist around the letter in his hand, making a visible effort to keep from losing his temper.  He takes a deep breath and forces a calmer demeanor.

"Hmmm..." he thinks out loud, "Maybe I can kill two boar with one spear.  YOU THREE!"

He looks between Blake, Emerald, and Gilant with a confident smirk.

"You're in luck!  I can tell you're the kind to not shy away from a challenge, especially one that could put you in a better position to get what you want from this conf...  this lovely city!  Around here we have a program for traveling merc... heroes to prove themselves by completing a quest issued by the office of foreign affairs.  This will fulfill the 'community service' option of your extended residency application, eliminating the need to pay the processing fee.  In short, we go out, kick some bad-guy's behind, and in one day climb a rung higher on the social ladder!  'Course, there's always other options like unclogging the aqueduct."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:25, Tue 28 Oct 2008.

Gilant doesn't look pleased with how Grall thinks so lowly of him as the Githyanki grins slightly as he speaks in the Deep Speech, (Deep Speech)"And I can tell that you are one who speaks without thinking of the ramifications first."(Deep Speech) Gilant then switches to speaking in common as he adds, "You have a strange way of making an offer, first you mock and belittle me, then offer a deal. Is this how those in Unity normally offers deals?"

As Gilant pulls back his hood, revealing his face and that his hair is shoulder length, he calmly adds, "Yes, I am a Githyanki. And most historical myths have a seed of truth. And if your wondering, there are Githyanki that are even more bloodthirsty and sadistic than the myths describe. After all, your myths are told by non-Githyanki witnesses, but the most famous warriors among the Githyanki don't leave non-Githyanki witnesses of their exploits alive." While Gilant thinks Grall doesn't know the meaning of the word tact, but Gilant doesn't show even the slightest hint of hostility as the Githyanki knows that doing so would only be a distraction from his goals, as Gilant wonders if this society he has sought out in order to try and find a place he can live and learn in peace really exists or if it is just a facade. After all his first impression of it reminds himself of the Githyanki society he left behind...do as you are told by those in power, or those in power make your lives miserable and costly.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:37, Tue 28 Oct 2008.

  Hmm.  Slaughter unspecified people he’s never met because they were ‘bad guys’, or pay for something he didn’t particularly feel like paying for.

  Gee, tough call. Really.  Wait, was the other guy saying something?  Oh, from the last few words Blake could make a bet with ridiculously certain odds he could figure what they had been going on about had it even been a novels length of words.  Or summed up in one (if extended for style) word,

  DOOOOOOOOOM.

 ‘Why do I have a sudden urge to curse a Richards?’  Blake mused, he didn’t even know a Richards.  He shrugged and said  “Well, I guess I’ll just have to settle for only being bloodthirsty enough to kill unspecified ‘bad guys’ solely because of monetary convenience.  Oh my, I hope that’s violent enough.  It probably wouldn’t bode well if I wasn’t psychotic enough to handle being a killer for hire.  But alas, the things you do for the good of the city and all that.  Sacrifices must be made, both personal and other people.”

  Moral gray area?  What?  No.  That would suggest that one wasn’t morally color blind from time to time.

Emerald offers her papers to the Orc, figuring she may as well be as upfront and honest with the local guard as possible, even though he is distracted. But upon him saying he can tell they are all the kind who aren't afraid of challenges, she just silently points at herself with an inquisitive look of surprise. She turns an ear towards the Githyanki and makes a note to herself to learn that language.

To Blake's commentary, Emerald seems amused as she snorts from stifling a chuckle. A githyanki, a human and a fox being sent on a mission by an orc? Only in Unity. And yes... that entire time, she doesn't have anything to say yet.

"Well put, Gilant!" Grall answers in surprise with a cheerful chuckle, "You've made your point for both of us!  You can judge Unity by me the same way I can judge all Githyanki by you!  I meant no offense.  In fact, I'd love to test your skills in combat against my own if time allows."

He takes Emerald's offered papers and skims them while listening to Blake.

"'Psychotic?!'" he answers with a grin, "'Killer for hire!?'  An honest man!  I like that!"

He loses his smile.

"Too bad the big-wigs only appreciate honesty to a certain extent.  Be careful what you say around the sheriff.  Use words like 'psychotic killer for hire' around him, and you might raise suspicion."

He turns to Emerald with a confused look, offering her papers back.

"'Tourist?'  Surely you jest.  Use Gilant's 'student' or even 'pilgrim to the temple of so-and-so' if you don't want them asking you a lot of questions."

He then turns back to Joe, holding out his hand expecting Joe to hand him his application.

"And what's you're excuse for leaving your home for this craz...  bustling city of opportunity."

Mittens ears stand straight up and her eyes brighten the moment Grall mentions the word "combat."

"OOH!" she interjects excitedly, raising her fists to her mouth, "If you like, you can use the arena in the Temple of Tempus!  We've got all sorts of sparring gear!  It's not far from here, we could go there now!  You could talk to his excellency about his letter too!  Ooh!  And I get to fight the winner!"

She smiles and wags her tail, eyes darting from Grall to Gilant and back like a cat who's watching two people opening cans of tuna.

(Grall looks annoyed with her.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:36, Wed 29 Oct 2008.

  Blake nods in agreement with Grall's sum up.  "True, official types never like it looked at too closely that they hire any passing stranger to kill people that inconvenience them and their city... Oh, you were talking about me?  Well I had never considered doing such before until you brought it up.  Is it particularly hard to do?"

  He shrugged, and said "As for why I'm here, have you ever been to Narfell?"

  Narfell.  It's freaking freezing up there Mr. Bigglesworth.  And going to warmer climates than home that still have the comforts of home (in this case, getting them in the first place may be the case) is a traditional reason for tourism if there ever was one.

Gilant nods with a slight smirk on his face at Grall's response. The Githyanki is currently trying to not to look at Blake like the human is some sort of weird aberration. On the other hand Gilant isn't paying any real attention to Emerald at the moment since she has done nothing to make herself worth notice.

Mittens on the other hand gets herself almost as much of Gilant's attention as Grall, when she suggests a place where duels can take place as to Gilant, that means there is a place he can get 'practice' as Gilant knows that book experience is important, but it has its limits, and a place where practice with some safeguards can occur is a good place in Gilant's book. However Gilant currently doesn't say anything as he rubs his chin while obviously considering both Grall's and Mitten's respective offers.

Emerald gives a grin to the orc. "No, sir... I'm not kidding. I'm a tourist. When I heard about Unity, I wanted to come check it out. But thanks for the advice anyhow..."

She glances at the conversation going on and starts trying to figure out the people present. Blake seems to be heartless, but with a twisted sense of humor. Grall seems to be gruff, but prolly a real gummibear on the inside. Gilant seems like a smart guy who still has some lingering paranoia from his people... rightfully so. And Mittens seems like a crazed puppy dog stuck in some shifter body. But it's still too early to judge. Either way, Emerald knows she's going to have fun learning new languages here if Gilant is any indication.

To Emerald, Grall raises an eyebrow but doesn't respond.  Perhaps it's common for... whatever she is... to go touring armed to the teeth in leather armor.  To Blake he chuckles.

"Narfell?" he asks, "Nope.  I'm guessing that's where you're from and the conditions aren't too pleasant.  Hard to do?  The paperwork is the worst part of living here in my opinion.  Speaking of which, you do have a completed residency application don't you?  The Sheriff will just send you back here if you show up at his office without one."

To Mittens he just sighs.

"Tempting.  Perhaps after we find out whatever mission the Sheriff gives us.  It could be helpful to be familiar with each other's skills if we wind up on the same team.  In any case, those who are ready come with me."

Grall heads for the exit and from there leads the way to the Sheriff's office.

Mittens follows Grall even though she doesn't need to fulfill any residency requirements.

"Never fought a Githyanki before!" she thinks to herself, her heart pounding with excitement, "Or an Orc.  Or a fox!  And that Human is oozing as much confidence as the rest of them!  I can't wait for the fighting to start!"

For those who choose to join Grall, he leads the way down the cobblestone street to an impressive masonry building crawling with guards and detectives.  He bypasses the long line to the clerk and enters the main office through a side door.  Guards gaze suspiciously at the Grall and his company - except for Mittens who usually apparently commands about as much attention as drying paint.  Grall leans his hand on the desk of some tired looking, overweight, old orc woman and smiles at her.

"What can I do for you, young man?" she asks him in her raspy, slow voice.

"These visitors would like to opt for the more exciting version of 'community service.'  I've already looked over their residency forms, so they're good to go."

"I'll be the judge of that, hun," she answers, indicating for the group to hand over their paperwork, "Let's see your I.D. too."

"OH FOR THE LOVE OF!" Grall bellows, "You know me!  I'm a citizen now!  That's not necessary!"

"Rules are rules, young man," she answers in the same tired tone as before, "You should know the drill by now.  Suppose you were a Doppelganger spy?"

Grall grumbles about citizens shouldn't be treated like suspects and he hands over his I.D.  The old woman answers his grumbling with a deliberate, "Ha. Ha. Ha."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:56, Sat 01 Nov 2008.

Gilant follows Grall, in part since he doesn't have much money so paying the fees would be difficult for him, and also because he doesn't really have much in the way of job skills unless he wanted to be a historian, which really isn't something he wants to be. Not to mention that legal jobs for swordsmen wishing to use their skills in combat aren't all that easy to get if you don't know anyone in the system.

Upon seeing the bureaucratic nonsense that even Grall is having to go through, but keeps quiet for the moment since he figures drawing any extra attention to himself would only be problematic right now.

Emerald follows the bunch and hands over her paperwork to the elderly orc lady and strokes her chin in thought. This city has some decent security. Rightfully so, since the lady has a point... Emerald can't help but wonder how Doppelgangers are treated in this city. After all... even a Doppelganger who is upfront about being such can still shape shift into anyone around and pull all kinds of pranks or even illegal activity. Not to mention steal someone's I.D.

Emerald, of course, doesn't mention how EASY that whole stealing bit would be. But she gives the elderly orc a bright smile, complete with ears perked and tail wagging. Seems the fox is happy enough, bureaucracy or not. And it's this same bureaucracy that might even be making her so happy. After all... what all the other present company sees as an annoying obstacle, Emerald sees as a potential challenge.

"If I were to take a guess, you lost a bet or something and wound up having to do this processing job against your better judgment, eh Grall? Look on the bright side... this is an opportunity to make some potentially powerful future allies as more people pour into the city."

She doubts an orc cares about powerful allies as much as, say, a human would. But orcs always respected powerful people generically... so Emerald figured it was worth a shot pointing that out and maybe later, deliver the punchline by proving how powerful she can be.

  Super confident killer.  That’s Blake.  Because admissions that you’ve never killed for profit and were uncertain how well you’d do attempting so were both wonderful evidence of competence in those areas.

  At least in Sdrawkcab Ssa Yzarc Town.

  “I’m sure she’s as thrilled by this as we are, unless one of us has an unhealthy enthusiasm for this sort of thing.  Incidentally, does this mean I can ignore you when you ask me for my ID?”  This last part in regards to Grall.  Blake wondered how many times people would ask for ID before even the slightest thing actually came to show for it.

  Because so far he’d had nothing practical to show for handing over his ID the umptyninth (is that even a real number?) time other than not getting thrown out every span of thirty seconds through five minutes.  He may just let them if it kept up, as he might get to skip walking if the throwing was literal and they had a nice arc to the toss.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:51, Tue 04 Nov 2008.

Mittens also hands over her I.D.  Grall grunts in reply.  He wasn't stuck with this task by losing a bet.  Rather it's another frustrating episode in his personal fight with the system.  He also doesn't appreciate Blake suggesting ignoring him in the future.

"Only if you want to wind up being interrogated by the intelligence agency," Roz warns Blake, "And I'd say there isn't enough enthusiasm for procedure."  (This said to Emerald as well.)

Roz returns the team their I.D.s and papers then gives Emerald and Gilant a smirk.  "Don't get many of your kind here.  I recommend spending some time at the office of cultural affairs as soon as possible as indicated on your application.  They'll do a better job of showing you how things work around here than Grall has."

She then escorts the team into the Sheriff's office who looks busier than a one-armed archer.

"Got some visiting heroes," Roz says.

The sheriff looks up from his work and stares icicles at the group with his one good eye then returns to his work.

"Give 'em to Bordachelli," he says.

Roz takes them to Bridgett's desk and asks them to wait for her.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:20, Tue 04 Nov 2008.

The Githyanki nods to Roz as he puts away his papers, although Gilant resists the urge to sigh as he doubts the 'office of cultural affairs' would really be happy to hear about Githyanki society if they asked about it, but the swordmage knows that learning about Unity society would be handy since he doubts it is like the society fate has let him escape from.

As Gilant follows along first to the sheriff's desk and then to 'Bridgett's desk' as Gilant wonders what task will be assigned to the group. As such Gilant doesn't see the need to say anything.

  ‘Ah, the joys of kind, civilized cities.  I’ll find one eventually.’ Had a certain Rogue been here instead of some Mysterious Dungeon, they'd wonder why it was more potentially life threatening to them to be in Unity than Luskan, which had an abundance of organized crime, disorganized crime, zombies, and a floating island that dripped acid making regular passes over the city.

  So, they had to wait for yet another thing.  In this case for someone to show up.  So in order to cut a long wait short, Blake got started on a potentially longer task… Wait, what?

  Well it’s like this.  When the universe is trying to waste your time, then it’s a good idea to put that empty space to good use, depriving it of its ability to hassle you.
  A way to add to the effectiveness of this, is to hassle the universe by forcing it’s hand.  The more it has to show, the better.

  So, what was Blake going to do to pass the time?
  Why, he was going to Reread his application (in case there were any other ‘suggestions’ to be faced like Gilant did, etc).
  And he was going to reread the copies of city policy and admissions policy he had been given.
  And the list of prominent legalities.
  And if for some strange reason important legal details that could never have happened unnoticed suddenly pop up for the first time, he was going to start…

  Asking people questions. What?  Were you expecting something evil and sinister?  Not all legal issues require such you know.

  Of course, this was all provided Bridget took more than sixty seconds to show up.  However, considering the incredibly by the book nature everyone has been enforcing so far, it would be rather odd if all of a sudden they did not want him to take some time to review the laws and such before they left (It wouldn't do to have his 'service' not count because of a legal technicality).

  Which he will do if necessary.

  "Any incidental legal quirk any of you was curious over, considering I'm rechecking that sort of thing?" He asked their little group.  Blake wasn't greedy, he could share metaphysical turnabout with others.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:55, Tue 04 Nov 2008.

Emerald scratches behind her ear as she thinks on Blake's question. "Well my papers recommend going to the Cultural Affairs office... does yours?" After all... Emerald is curious if the mere fact Blake is human has some impact on his standing as a citizen by default. Which would be ironic... a city claiming to be all-inclusive and against racism indicating that rare races like hers and Gilant's had to go through an extra hoop...

Bridget enters the room holding a scroll and walks to her desk to drop the scroll off before looking at the people present. She stays standing and locks eyes with the others in the room. She then says, "Welcome to Unity. I have a task here to recover some stolen property that belongs to Unity. If you are here, you must have shown interest in aiding in this procedure. But before you do, you must sign this. Once you do, we can be on our way." she presents the scroll and soon unravels it. It has some simple, blunt statements and a good amount of space to sign in.

The scroll reads thus:

-I agree to follow the orders of Bridget Bordecelli. I agree that if I do not follow her orders, I am liable to not receive the benefits of this mission.
-I agree to return all the treasure found and keep none for myself. Should I take any of the treasure, I understand it would be stealing and accept the legal consequences I will receive.
-Unity is not held responsible for any injuries or death that may occur to me while I am on this mission.


.....well at least she's not asking for I.D. or their papers. Just a signature.

Mittens immediately signs the paper like she's done this before and can't wait to get started.  As it turns out, that's exactly how she feels.  ^.^

Grall signs a little more reluctantly.  He overheard a rumor about how strict this Bordachelli is.

"Legal quirk?" Grall asks, "Only if you find one that can get me into officer training school without a recommendation letter."

Unless Timothius objects,
Once all the formalities are out of the way, Bridgett leads the group to the woods outside the city walls.  On the way, she methodically familiarizes herself with each members offensive and defensive capabilities.  She follows the directions she was given in her intelligence report to the place suspected to be the lair of the bandits.  The occupants didn't do a very good job covering their tracks, and clues point to an outcropping of rock as the entrance.  There are several felled bushes (indicated in dark green on the map) blocking the entrance to a cave.

Addition to the contract: Deputies and their hired help are under strict orders to apprehend criminals without killing them.  They are expected to use the minimum necessary force when enforcing law.

(We've got team members who have the same first initial, so I indicated Grall with a red Gr and Mittens with a blue M.)
http://spreadsheets.google.com...GO9l1BM0Og&hl=en

Other details:  The team was transported via horse-drawn wagon.  The driver is an old human man who lost a leg in the war.  There's room enough in the wagon for the team and many prisoners.  Time of day: mid-afternoon.  Weather: sunny.

This message was last edited by the GM at 03:34, Thu 06 Nov 2008.