Massilia is well known for the great lighthouse, the Pharo, named after the even bigger one in Alexandria.  It can be seen for many miles at night.  There are also lesser lights, which are just magical lanterns hung on poles, set out every night in key places.

They line the breakwater every night, to prevent boats from crashing into it in the dark.  Each evening, a group of young lantern tenders, all human, set them out.

The combination of the light shining down from the Pharo, and the lights on the poles, make the breakwater fairly well lit.  Breakwater Harbor, and the Breakwater itself, form the favorite outdoor night spot for many Masillians, and as the sun goes down, food and drink vendors, and street entertainers, begin to appear.

It is especially popular with the lower classes of the city, because it is free and accessible.  The wealthy prefer the secluded waterfront on the south side of the harbor, but for the rest of the city, the Breakwater is the favorite place.

Tonight there is a street performer with a monkey, and a vendor selling a weak fruity wine concoction, and another selling bread and cheese snacks.  The monkey attracts a lot of attention.  And this is where people are gathered, quite a few, of varied walks of life.

There is also a squad of Orcs, huddled together at the south end of the Breakwater Harbor, trying to look important.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:28, Wed 03 Oct 2018.

Dusk tends to be the time when people start to gather.  Before that, they are usually working.  Few people work into the evening.  Even the constant Visigoth push for "more production!" (in just about everything, whatever Humans do it is never enough to meet their quotas) can't get people to work in darkness, or when they are just too tired to go on.

A lot of the people here, especially those in the frayed clothing of the poor, do seem tired.

Near the monkey trainer, a puppeteer sets up shop.  He starts retelling the story of the defeat of a legendary monster that came out of the sea, many years ago.

Florian proved himself a fairly capable guide; he knew a fair bit about the city, its history, and the peoples living within, but did not volunteer so much as to hog conversation.  A brief explanation here, such as the nature of the lantern bearers, or how that there Pharo was now largely the home of the orc leadership - ironically so as well, as for all ors tended to fail at sailing, they elected to reside in a lighthouse.

As they approached the puppeteer, the faun nodded courteously.  In better lighting, they might even recognize each other.

Florian has seen the puppeteer before.  There aren't a lot of puppeteers around and they are easy for him to recall.  On the other hand, it works the other way.  There aren't a lot of fauns around, and his identity is widely known.

He calls Florian over between skits.

People have a habit for tracking the affairs of the upper crust of society.   Some do it for fun, others, to pick out the subtle political cues that will help them survive. It's no surprise that the changes in House Palantus have been observed.  Probably not by Orcs, they tend to be oblivious, Humans are all but interchangeable to them.  But just in case, the puppeteer makes sure no Orcs are nearby when he speaks.

"Ho there, I've got to ask you... I know you're with House Palantus, and they say that the silk robe set took off.  Well packed, too, it didn't look like a short trip.  They've left, they say.  It's a shame because they had a fair reputation, and not many of the great houses do these days.  Half of them dance for the Orcs like my puppets dance for me, but not your folk.  Good folk.  So it's worrisome.  Can you say what's going on? Have they left us?"

Swift wanders to the area following Florian as she looks around, taking the area in. It is her scouting skills that are taking over. She tries to see if there are any threats. She also looks for other that might be the big wheels or people who attract attention. She listens as Florian and smiles at the puppeteer.

One of the things a scout can recognize is when other people are scouting.  Especially if they are in a group- Swift can see how they interact with each other.

Swift can tell that not all the humans here are just out for a nice evening, or trying to earn a few coins.  There are about half a dozen young men, some of them still teenagers, that seem to be watching.  Watching everyone and everyone, and walking around, checking shadows, looking in the kinds of places thieves might hide, but especially watching the Orcs.

Two of them are carrying large lanterns, and they seem to be the ones in charge- the others take their instructions from the ones with the lanterns.

No one seems upset by them, and they seem familiar to many of the people here.