"The Seven Voyages of Sinbad,""Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves,""Aladdin and His Magic Lamp" -- these and other classics fill the pages of the Arabian Nights. Each story is told by a very wise and beautiful young woman called Scheherazade, who reveals them night after night to a king with a murderous heart. The first of the thousand-and-one tales is Scheherazade's own...the last may be yours. Join the adventure in a land of sultans, genies, and desert nomads as we explore the world of Zakhara, The Land of Fate. (A vWorld Expansion)
Here begins the tangent thread for the "A Thousand and One Adventures: Brithrights" thread. Here we follow a portion of the unlikely heroes as they leave the Shrine of Zann the Learned and move to explore the Gateway City known as Dhiliz.
The group consists of the Corsair Rambad, the Rawun Kasib, the Sa'luk Ahmed. They give their good byes at the shrine, and make a promise to return no later than tomorrow morning to the mosque.
Leaving the gardens the group begins to head back down the street they came from. The large bazaars are the center of activity in town, and so that is the goal. Rumors of a floating bazaar are spoken to them by Bashir or Jibreel and so they begin heading that way. Travel down the road takes a little while until they begin to near the same location where they stepped down into the stone set riverside roadways, and the strange crocodile statues.
This thread is for Kasib, Rambad and Ahmed.
Last edited by Vardaen on Mon Jun 04, 2007 7:42 pm, edited 3 times in total.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
"This place is sick!" complains Kasib, looking over at Rambad. "Let us go to the bazaar and see if we can find any beautiful maidens that need rescuing!" He smiles, "I have not done any 'rescuing' in far too long."
"Kings have no friends, only subjects and enemies."
Ahmed laughs at Kasib's banter. "Really Kasib? You always seemed the type who'd rescue himself if there were no ladies around." As he talks Ahmed's eyes are again dancing in his head, looking at everyone and everything.
Ahmed is actually looking for rich marks he can rob, if anyone stands out let me know.
The trio make their way through the streets. Rambad laughs at Ahmed's comment. "Some times you can hear him over the braying of the camels. It is very disturbing!" He lets out a deep laugh amused compeltely at Kasib's expense.
The three move through the streets, at first the streets are like any other. It is the area around the river that is different. The stone's are brown in color forming a break wall against the water. Alge and plants grow from the side of the wall, and signs of where the river will rise and fall with rain marks a line on them horizontally. The three ask a few directions and then turn south toward the grand bazaar. Small flat bottom boats pole up and down the river in the water. People load and unload, and it seems the population is very used to travel on the water.
The people are of all sorts, from the proud Mamluk bodyguard to the pack of wild children running along the byway. A lanky looking man, with a small burning man no taller than Orman sitting on his shoulder, exits a nearby house and turns toward you. He is speaking to his Gen, the obvious Flame Sha'ir speaks harshly to the tiny genie, very unlike Ka'im and Orman's conversations. He moves past and through the group, his rich silk robes and hanging pouches look like temping targets -- the Efreetikin on his shoulder perhaps a deterent.
Up ahead the noise of an open bazaar begins to filter down. The shouts of fishmongers, the calls of barbers and beggers, the laughter of people watching Rawuns, all the loud noises of a bustling and busy market are on the air. A large building, later to be discovered to be the Ministery of Riches, over looks the bazaar, and blocks view from seeing it at the moment.
Tempting Target Offered.
You guys are 30 yards from the building, and he bazaar behind it. Please check map in OOC, you guys are just north of #8 and #5.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
"Well Ahmed smiles to the others. Good luck finding women, I'll be taking in the sights." With a quick wave, the man turns and heads left away from his other two companions.
Going to attempt to circle about and get back to the nice target you gave me ; )
Ahmed makes his comment about woman and then breaks off from the other two with a simple comment. He slips around into a side street, doubles back and comes out alone, looking up the street at the backside of the Sha'ir as the slender man stands argueing with his mini Efreeti. Eventually the small burning man bows several times and vanishes much like Orman will do when he goes to fetch a spell for Ka'im.
Rambad shrugs, "I am curious to see what kind of wine they make in this city of sweaty distractions." He trugs on his turban, the humid air here in the jungle city is not something he is used to. He swats a mosquitoe and looks at Kasib. "Shall we inspect the bazaar?"
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Ahmed's eyes glance to his quarry carefully and then head back in front of him. Taking care not to be noticed by the man, Ahmed follows along, sometimes taking side streets to run parallel to the man, sometimes working his way ahead and then doubling back. The whole time he appears nonchalant, just wandering the city and taking in the scenery. It'd be easiest to just bump into the man and slit a purse, but Ahmed lacks the finesse. Unfortunately he'll need to tail the man to where ever he is staying and just rob his room come night fall. Sighing softly, Ahmed reminds himself to learn the art of the pick pocket some day.
Dammnit, I just realized I have no sleight of hand ranks
"Wine sounds good," Kasib says, not against drinking. In fact, the rawun actually partakes in more vices than anyone else in the group. "Come on then Rambad, woman, song, and wine!" He smiles, watching Ahmed head off to his life of thievery. Kasib rolls his eyes and heads off to the bazaar with Rambad the Ghulslayer.
"Kings have no friends, only subjects and enemies."
Ahmed slips off and begins tailing the Sha'ir. He doubles back, follows along parallel and slips in behind the man. Once he gets lost in the narrow deadend streets of Dhiliz, and three times he nearly looses the man. Finally he watches the Sha'ir stop before a non-descript building. The Sha'ir traces an arcane symbol on the door before reaching for the handle, opening it, and vanishing inside. Nearly thrity minutes has been spend, and Ahmed does his best to remember where he is before he can head back to the bazaar to look for the others.
Rambad glances as Ahmed leaves the trio, and then nods to Kasib. "Let us becareful at first Kasib. We do not know how tightly the Loregiver's Laws are followed here. I would hate to get into a bottle and find out we are going to be spending a month in prison." He motions forward and the two travel along the canals around the large building, the Minsitery of Riches. The two move around it and find a massive open bazaar laid out before them. The bazaar is on an island in the middle of the river, the water forms a U around it hugging the bazaar while the Minsitry caps the norther end of the market. Tents and stalls and wandering merchants are all over the place. The market is thronged with people going about their daily activities.
The city's open bazaar (5 on Map) is a market for food and livestock: colorful jungle birds, caged chickens, wicker backpacks, delicate orchids, trained jaguars, spicy eel kabobs (a local delicacy), coconut candy, and fragrant stalks of cinnamon. Even elephants can be discovered here in the chaotic jumble of sights and smells. Exotic goods from distant cities can be purchased here as well, including gold jewelry from Afyal; exquisite porcelain from Fahhas; rare books, lenses, and telescopes from Hudid; fine crystal from I'tiraf; and rich fabrics from Talab.
Just south of the open bazaar is the floating bazaar, visible from the southern end of the open bazaar. Dihliz is famous for its floating bazaar (4), a covered market with canals rather than streets. For a small fee, one can hire a boat to explore this curious suq. A host of small shops and stalls open onto the indoor canals of the floating market, selling most equipment, except that weapons and armor cost nearly twice the normal amount, because of scarcity and demand. A few quaint coffee shops can be found here, where visitors pause for a relaxing break while shopping.
In the dead-ends of less frequented canals, all manner of illicit wares can be obtained for the right price: tobacco, narcotics, poison, liquid star, slaves, sometimes even goods looted from the ruins of Nog and Kadar. This market closes abruptly after dark, when crocodiles from the Nogaro are rumored to make brash incursions.
Kasib "Take Ten" 22 Success
A common cause for complaint by tourists is the city's scarcity of public baths. In all of Dihliz, there are but three bathhouses (6), all of which charge exorbitant rates. They are owned by an anonymous foreign merchant from Muluk, who has a virtual monopoly on the bathing industry in the city. Given the curiously high mortality rate among entrepreneurs starting new bathhouses these days, perhaps their scarcity is not so surprising.
You guys can buy pretty much anything you like. You have a little while to simply explore the markets, either one (the floating bazaar costs you each 1 bit to explore from one of the teak canoe guides. If you wish to buy something, normal, illicit or magical, here is the place to spend some of that money. Just include in a post items you are looking for, or PM with desires for magical or illicit goods and we can work it out.
You have effectively 1 IC hour of free time in the bazaar before *PLOT* (Ahmed gets half this time.)
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring
Kasib, besides looking for some wine, is interested in pretty magical things, such as rings, amulets, and the like. He also hunts for potions, arcane scrolls, and anything he can use of that nature. The rawun also carries two scimitars, and looks for a place he can sell his masterwork blade for much more than its actually worth ...
"Kings have no friends, only subjects and enemies."
