Posting for events and roleplaying that take place during your stay in the city.

"Ah feel all kinds a outta sorts," Bunny admitted, once out on the streets again.  "Ins-ahd bein' so nice as it is an' all."  Her head turned searching first up and then down the street.  "Ah reckon it figures.  No soonah does one become accustomed t' trousers when circumstances demand at least a skirt an' a nice blouse."

"Nothing wrong with trousers..." quipped Lissabytta rather playfully, adding more practically, "and while travelling on the expedition, you are definitely going to need them."  Long skirts would definitely be impractical in some places, like a barrow.  She rolled a coin over her fingers idly as she lay on one of the beds in the double occupancy room that she shared with Bunny.

"But, there is no reason not to go shopping for a new blouse." Lissa conceded, as they had just come into some coin, "I'll probably need to coordinate some of the supplies for the Professor anyways."

"We'll know more tomorrow evening after the meeting," the blonde scholar noted off-hand, "but that means tonight more of a recreational bent to our wanderings.  We can look for more personal travelling items, clothes, whatever, and then see how spicy Endoran cuisine is..."  She seemed thoughtful for a moment, before sitting up and musing casually, "What do you think passes for a drinking song around here?"  The coin never stopped rolling over her knuckles as she stood up from the bed.

"Drinkin' song?"  Bunny brought a hand up to shade her eyes as she called up to the window of the room she shared with the Northern girl.  "Well, isn't that the peculiar question?" she mused to herself.  "Ah must say, Lissa," she replied then, being at a complete loss for an answer.  "Ah am afraid that Ah have very little experience with such thangs."

"The prospect of Endoran cuisine, howevah, sounds verah appealin'.  Ah you comin' down?" she called, finding that calling up to the window had introduced a strain at the back of her neck - in addition to drawing an increasingly uncomfortable number of eyes to their conversation.

"I'm coming..." Lissa insisted from her window perch.  She trotted over to and then stood in the doorway for a moment straightening out the pleats of her sleeves one at a time as she transferred the coin on her knuckles from one hand to the other.  She hadn't meant to make her companions wait (well, not too long), but was simply making sure that their belonging left in the room were properly stowed.  Surveying the room before leaving.

Locking the door behind her, the young blonde scholar had her longarm still slung over her back, as well as her long travelling coat on.  She'd always found that it helped to keep the dust and dirt from her blouses and breeches.  Her leather boot heels tapped out a rhythm as she trotted down the stairs to meet up with her friends waiting below.

"Let's eat!" she urged the others, "And then find out what this city has to offer!"  She glanced at Niri and then Claissa, "We'll presumably need outdoor dining accommodations?"  She mused wistfully for a moment, "What do you think passes for barbeque around here?"  Lissa had always found that roasting spice were generally the most flavorful ... and varied.

Claissa and Niri had been considering checking out the local market for what sort of meats were popular in this area, or at least, Claissa had been thinking about it on both of their behalfs. So naturally when she heard the conversation about Bunny and Lissa having similar thoughts, she figured they could go as a group. "Sounds great!" she beamed to Lissa. "And yes, probably outdoors would be best. We love barbecue too, maybe Niri will be able to sniff some out when we get closer." She fell into step with the others. "How about you Bunny, anything in particular you're looking for?"

"Ah am open t' trah-in' most anythang, Claissa," replied Bunny.  She paused to set her hat atop her head, shading her eyes against the mid-day sun.  "Least in so fah as food is concerned."

"Mah Nana Gray used t' favor Bah-b'-cue.  Used a kah-yan peppah in a mix a othah spices that Ah do not believe Ah have evah tasted anywhere else."

As if appearing out of thin air, Zassil's deep voice sounded out from nearly just to the side of Claissa. "I could eat. I am hungry often. I'm a growing Dracil, after all." He flashed a small grin at the women.

But then his voice dropped as he looked down and it was hard to tell if he was fearful or excited at the prospect as he asked, "Do you think we'll actually run in to...more necromancers?"

"Mah stars."  Bunny brought a hand to her throat as she started at the dracil's sudden appearance.  "If we do, Ah certainly hope they do not come upon us as stealthy as you, Zassil."

She started off then at a leisurely stroll down the street in the direction in which she had been told the market district lay.  "Though, from the thangs that Lissa has said about her Professah Clarke's area of expahtice, Ah would say that there is a greatah chance than one mahght expect from your usual expedition."

Lissa simply shrugged off Zassil's question, for there really wasn't an answer to it.  "But the chances are still incredibly slim, I would think..." she tacked onto Bunny's assertion for the double of one-tenth of a percent, as still only two-tenths of a percent.  In theory, their expedition might border on an invitation to truck with the undead and those that sought to their power - but, that still seemed to be an exceedingly small chance, as no one had really seriously dabbled with such evil doing for many centuries.  And indeed they weren't looking for practicing necromancers on this expedition.

In her many tens of thousands of days of life (like so many in the Kingdoms) - and numerous... or okay well ten or so - expeditions, she'd only encountered a necromancer once (and that wasn't on any of the expeditions); so, that percentage seemed very small indeed.  But who was really to say?  "Though, honestly, only the Silver Fox knows..." Lissabytta enigmatically quoted a line from ancient scripture in reply to her Dracil companion's query, "And while she's my patron, I have never known her to be that forthcoming with direct prophecy..."  The Silver Fox was Guiltless not Guileless...

Besides, this evening wasn't meant to be that serious, but more a light-hearted exploration of anything and everything that Endor might have to offer.

To that end, Lissa began to hum and then whistle an old Rembaran drinking ditty, as they progressed down the street.  She didn't move too quickly, allow her and her companions to engage in whatever storefronts and vendors that might be present along the way.  And she wasn't above engaging in a bit of two-step when the particularly catch point in the song (which unsurprisingly the tune was able to harmonized as a round being a simply, if infectious, drinking song) rolled around.

Pretty much Lissabytta was following her nose, though when it came to what direction they were heading...

Zassil gave Bunny a very, very gentle bump as he stepped by her. Encompassing them all he said, "Well. We seem to work well together. Hopefully I won't be magically weakened as much again if we do run in to any, but I know that with you all by my side, we will be triumphant and we will garner more reputation and deeds."

He smiled close-lipped as they headed towards a place to eat, feeling a little less hesitant.

"Incredibly slim ... "  Bunny mulled the words with a voice one part consideration and another part skepticism.  The question in her voice, however, trails to nothing, stolen by the sight of Zassil's reptilian smile.  "Oh mah."  The discomfiture in her eyes is mild, but marked none the less.  Whatever unease Bunny might have felt, however, was momentary.  She banished the look with a smile of her own, but under her breath remarked, "Mah, mah, grandma, what big teeth you have."

This in turn was swept away as the Southerner turned to something beyond.  "What is that mahvelous smell?  Wondah what they're cookin'?" she said, and struck off in the direction of the enticing aroma.

Claissa was about to respond to Bunny when Zassil's voice from nearby startled her. Naturally Niri had smelled him coming, but didn't think the familiar dracil's scent merited a warning. "Oh! Hello Zassil," she said, her surprise quickly giving way to friendliness. She listened to the others as she walked with them, mostly letting Niri decide what she wanted the two of them to look like, and watched and listened to Lissa's little performance with obvious enjoyment. She would have joined in, had she known the song herself. She soon circled back to the large figure again. "Well said," she said with a happy smile.

"Hm hm, only one way to find out!" she continued cheerfully to Bunny as she followed after her. "Bup, stay with me Niri." The tiger found the aroma a little too enticing, and Claissa knew a loose tiger investigating food didn't always go over well in a city setting like this. The big cat quickly returned to her mistress's side, though she occasionally bumped against it in hopes of moving her along.

The scent of spiced meat lead away from the wealthy areas surrounding the Heroes Cemetery toward a less well appointed area of Endor.  And yet here, the streets bustled with a richness of life.  Less clean.  Less orderly it was true.  Certainly noisier, with the voices that called out in greeting, laughed at jests, cursed and argued.  In it's way, this area seemed more alive.

Here the streets were less regular, representing the spaces between clusters of cleanly whitewashed, mud brick walls and buildings that had been thrown up at the whim of the builders, than the regularly laid out avenues of the Heroes Cemetery area.  Against the walls that line these streets, the awnings of stalls jutted and spilled, narrowing the streets themselves like the falls of rock or strands of pebble and sand that so often seemed to line the spaces between high sloping river banks and the flow of the rivers that had carved them.

A smoke stain, dark and yellowy, laden with grease rose up the wall below which one stall sprawled into the street.  Nearest the street and the flow of passersby, a handful of basic but sturdy stools ringed small round tables, barely sizeable enough to contain the bowls and utensils of the patrons for the brief time they spent eating before merging again with the ever-moving population of the street.  In truth, few of the patrons seemed to set their bowls down for any length of time, preferring instead to hold their bowl in one hand while shoveling the mix of rice, meat, and vegetables into their mouths with wooden spoons or curious pairs of sticks used dexterously between practiced fingers.

Further in, toward the wall, was a wooden counter - little more than a long slab of thick wood held up by stout wooden legs.  One end was darkly stained with a patina born of many spills and worn smooth by the countless passages of a wet rag.  On the other end were bowls and plates filled with food.  A closer inspection of these bowls and plates revealed that they were not what they seemed.  Rather, they were representations of the dishes that had been skillfully carved and painted to mimic the dishes themselves.

Beyond the counter and up against the wall, flames leapt and sputtered over a smoking grill while various pots bubbled nearby - a large one in particular leaked white starchy streaks from cooking rice.  "Hei!  'Rashai!" the cook called over his shoulder at your approach.  In fact he called the words at the approach of any potential customer, seeming to have a preternatural sense for such a presence.

A halfling - a worker of some sort by the cut of his clothing - entered the ring of tables to another resounding call from the cook behind the counter.  "I'm for Bimbimba t'day, Master," the halfling said in a thick West Arnian accent, and he tossed a coin up onto the counter.  "Hei hei!" the Master replied.  And, as he turned to sweep up the coin, it became apparent - if it had not already - that the man was a Woren, with the catlike ears riding up above a headband that he wore tied at the back.

Lissa strained to peer over the counter (as subtly as possible), to see the various wares that were being prepared.  She like what she saw, as the other patrons appeared to be partaking of a wide variety of shredded and sliced meats and various vegetables and condiments arrayed in either soup (or thicker stew) form or upon a bed of rice.  The pungent smell of a variety of exotic spices was also upon the air.  She gave her companions a thumbs up, as the lithe musketeer definitely approved of this place.

She motioned to the Woren proprietor holding up her hand with the number of fingers indicating the number in their party.  Then Lissa waited to see what table or counter space might accommodate them.  As they waited, the thin blonde scholar's mouth started to water as she eyed a bowl of dumpling soup in red, spicy broth being eaten by on the patron's at the counter...

It was clear, as Lissabytta's eyes roamed the tables, that seating was first come first served, and that people seemed to take places at a table even when they were not a part of the group that currently occupied it.  The tables and accompanying stools were at counter height so that a person could easily take a spot even if a stool were not available.  And many did.

Hei, hei!"  Even with his back turned, the woren proprietor seemed to sense Lissabytta's gesture.  He half turned from the flames of his grills both to deliver a bowl to the counter top full of rice topped by multi-colored triangles of food that radiated from a point at the center as well as to get a look at who might be gesturing for his attention and why.  The halfing who had tossed his coin to the counter was quick to reach up and take the bow - his order - before wandering off into the small forest of tables and stools.

Before the proprietor could offer a reply to Lissabytta's gesture, however, a lupin at a table with a pale half-elf and a smaller bearded human appeared to note the searching movements of the blond Rembaran's gaze, and gestured to his table even as he and his compatriots stood to leave.  All three gathered up their bowls and utensils, preparing to bus them to another table nearby piled high with bowls waiting to be washed.  The lupin plucked one last meaty morsel from his bowl and dropped it into his toothy jaws with a clawed hand.  Then they departed.

Though there were other patrons standing without a table, they seemed to respect the fact that the lupin had, with his gesture, offered it to the party of newcomers.  The table was open.

Lissa inclined her head to the departing patron, acknowledging and thanking them for the gesture.  With the 'blessing' of the proprietor-cook to take the table she moved to claim it.  But before sitting, she moved to the counter to order.  She pointed to one of the items on the placard, "Uh... that one." then worked up the courage, "Uh... Mandu... Gook"  And after a pause, she added, "Pa Jun... Hae Mul Pa Jun..."  A few coins appeared from her pouch and she laid them down on the table.

Her gloved hand motioned to the others, as she back away from the counter to open space and moved towards their table.  "Best order quick," Lissabytta urged her compatriots, "Looks like things move fast around here..."

The blonde scholar sidled up to the table recently vacated table and waited for her friends to order and (hopefully) their food to come.  Well, she didn't know quite what to expect.  She thought it might be dumpling soup and some sort of seafood frittata.  But that was pure conjecture on her part.