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Forbidden Temple of the Great Falls

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Zato quickly realized the trouble was in. He, a blind man, was lost with a little girl and a duck in a city they didn't know. Perhaps he could retrace their steps, if they hadn't taken too many turns. How many turns had they taken?

"I think that we started this way" Zato said, and led Mary off towards they street he hoped they came from.
 
After some minutes of walking, and contemplative turns, the monk eventually stopped.

"Alright Mary, where are we? Do you see a sign, or anyone familiar?" he asked the little girl.
 
The small girl looked around, she saw rows of shops, and lots of people.

"Mister Zato, I don't recognise anybody, but there are lots of shops with signs above them." Mary looked around a bit more.

"There's also lots of people, but I haven't seen any of them before..." she remained holding his hand.
 
As Mary's gaze swept over her surroundings, she would have seen a barren street, few walkers, normal citizens from the looks of it throwing the strangers suspicious glances, while the buildings around them, wooden, mostly closed.

But one, with a peculiar sign reading "WILLARD'S TOYS 'N FUNS!" appeared to still be open, through the open windows hobby horses, wooden children-sized weapons and dolls of various materials visible.
 
"The stores are closing Mister Zato..." she informed the monk.

She spotted the still open shop.

"But, one or two are still open." she moved his arm up slightly in the direction of the open one.
 
"Hm.... well, we'd better go inside and ask directions" Zato declared to the girl.

"They've probably seen the group roaming around."
 
Swiftbeak was hardly surprised that no one jumped at his offer, and as the group began to disperse to tend to their own tasks the gryphon set down one of the market streets; even if he couldn't fly, he could certainly try to learn the lay of the land from the ground, and his strength lead him to believe he required no escort.

Morr's meeting and the Guard's grand entrance had at least ensured some of the town realized he wasn't a wild demonic beast roaming loose, but he nonetheless found himself putting up with an irritating amount of confrontations ranging from overzealous town guards to scared mothers and, on one occasion, a merchant that had chased the curious gryphon from his stall with a broom. None had the temerity to attack him outright, however, and it was this mixture of disdain and cowardice that was most tiresome; those that thought him dangerous were content to let him move on if he did not threaten them, unwilling to risk their own lives even if they thought he would undoubtedly harm another.

As he wandered further, his attention began to shift to the stalls themselves. Many advertised strange poultices, salves, cures; would one of them help ease the pain of his talon, or perhaps even speed its healing? He looked about and kept his ears perked, trying to pick out distinct mentions of medicine among the cacophony of salesmen.
 
If the old monk had listened to his surroundings, he might have heard some rather ominious figures, easily half a dozen, all clothed from head to toe in the same grey linen, speaking with sinister tone "That them?"

To be answered by another "That them.", followed by the unmistakable sound of determined foot-steps directly into the monk's direction.

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"HEALING SALVES! WARMING BALM! ALL OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY, DELIVERED FROM THE FARTHEST REACHES OF SHAR'TUL UP TO EVEN THE MIGHTY TOLDARE! COME, AT THE MOST RIDICULOUSELY LOW PRICES POSSIBLE! COME, BUY A BARTOLOMEW!" one of the merchant's voices rose over all the others on the market, his particular stall a curious amalgation of different shades of red, the table in front of him full of flasks of varying size and color.
 
Valetni made his way along the streets. Ignoring merchants as they hawked their wares, Ignoring beggars as they asked for alms, and ignoring children that ran barefoot along the streets. He made his way out of the artisan sector, moving more towards the docks. Valetni ducked into an alley, and surreptitiously checked that both his arrow projector and knife were firmly in place and ready to go. The quality of living slowly decreased as Valetni turned from the more prosperous areas. Beggars became the norm rather than the exception, and the buildings seemed to be in a general state of disrepair. Each one apparently held up only by its fellows. Valetni had the feeling that if one building were to go down, they all would.

Hopefully not while he was inside.

He stopped outside a particular building, a faded and grimy sign showed a bubbling flask outside the door. More or less the same as it had been when he was last here. Valetni grimaced, then used his cane to knock on the door. A shuffling sound could be heard from within, before a eye slit was wrenched to the side. A pair of suspicious, bloodshot eyes stared out at him.

"Hey, these ain't visiting hours, did Marco send you?" A harsh voiced whispered at him. Valetni blinked in surprise. Evidently the years had not been kind.

"Grendo, It's me. Valetni." Valetni said as he lowered his eyes to level with the slit.

"Valetni who?" The voice responded suspiciously.

"Valetni from the temple, damnit." Valetni hissed in exasperation. There was a pause behind the door, then the viewing slit was slammed shut. Valetni gave a sigh, and then rapped on the door once again.

"Go away!" A muffled shout came from behind the door. Valetni glanced around to make sure he was along on the street. It was entirely deserted. With a sigh, he continued pounding on a door. After about two minutes of constant pounding, the door was flung open. Valetni just barely missed braining Grendo with his cane. "What the fuck man!" Grendo all but yelled as he stood before Valetni. Time had not been kind at all to Gendo. He looked about a decade younger than Valetni, but the monk with a cane knew he was closer to two.

"Grendo, good to see you again." Valetni said with the whisper of a smile on his lips. He stalked into the dank and squalid room that served as Grendo's place of business. "I see you weren't satisfied with selling, you had to sample your wares as well?" He stood in place, taking the entire place in. "Do I get the grand tour?"

"First you get me kicked out of the temple, and now you come here, for what?" He snarled, his skinny, pasty white limbs shaking with rage. He flinched when a coinpurse collided with his chest. It sounded more like a sack of flour than coinage. Curious, as if he half expected it to be poison, he opened the pouch. His eyes widened, before he dipped his pinky finger into the pouch, drawing the substance up to his nose. He inhaled deeply, his eyes wide with shock. "This, this is pure?" He asked wide eyed.

"Close enough, how quickly can you move that for me?" Grendo looked up, hatred and greed warring in his eyes. "Can you move it in two days?" Valetni asked. "I'l be willing to go 60-40, you. Think of it as a apology for getting you exiled and excommunicated." Valetni said with an insincere smile.

"What do you need it for?" Grendo asked, clutching it against his chest.

"That's my business, let's just say I need some capital and leave it at that." Valetni said cryptically. "Cut it as much as you can, I want to squeeze every coin from this." Valetni instructed the former monk. He knew that the former monk would hold some back, but there would still be enough left over for him to accomplish his task. "One more thing, Grendo." Valetni instructed. "I have need of certain...ingredients." Valetni began to list off a veritable laundry list of alchemical and medical supplies. After receiving Grendo's confirmation that he would be able to procure said supplies, Valetni was about to step out the door when a thought struck him. "Grendo, you wouldn't happen to know where Molly is, do you?"

Grendo began to laugh, and then told him. Valetni began to laugh as well as he strolled out the door.

Well, if he was going to be going there, he certainly couldn't go in looking like a monk!
 
Vanessa was at the gate to pikewell still in the wagon. she was going thou the stuff seeing what they had and did not have. she was going to always have what she needed to fix them their food at all times. she saw she was getting low on some spices she used to add flavor to some meats so she hopped down out of the cart. she saw a near by Hellgaurd and said "be right back going to look for a spice shop". before he could stop her Vanessa was off.
 
As the old monk and his charge entered the toy-store, the owner, a corpulent, middle-aged man with a beard reaching from his chin to his neck, greeted them with a hearty "Hullo there, weary travelers! Come, take a look at my fine merchandise!", his meaty hands gesturing to the shelves lining the store's room, filled with children's toys; dolls, miniatures, anything a child under normal upbringing might have dreamed of was gathered here in vast amounts, even candy.

Behind the two, the clothed figures increased their step.
 
Vanessa kept walking thou the place soon finding herself at the market place. she made a sad face to know all the shops seem to be closed. she did not head back to the cart but rather walked around getting some exercise. She saw that a shop was open it seem to be a toy shop but what caught her eye was not the shop but two clothed figures whom she did not know. She kept a close eye on this two as they headed close to the toy shop. she had her hands on her daggers just in case.
 
Swiftbeak turned on the spot, having to coil like a housecat to maneuver in the street between the market stalls- At least if he didn't want to accidentally brush up against anyone. Even to a carrion eater, some of these people smelled terrible.

Approaching the stall, he did his best to speak casually, as any other shopper would; perhaps thinking if his words were nonchalant enough then the shopkeeper wouldn't notice they were coming from a giant beak.

"Ah, yes, hello, good sir. I am a consumer and wish to consume; that is, I wish to purchase some of your healing... things."

The gryphon felt anger flush within his chest. His frame functioned well at giving him some air of majesty, that made his chivalrous posturing feel somehow natural. This? This was shopping. This was something people did. Ordinary, down-to-earth people. It made him distinctly aware of the dust under his feet. His four feet. The constant feedback to his brain from his wings, the twitch of his tail, the length of his body, the brush of his fur.

He was struck silent, his eyes squeezing shut as a strange sensation overtook him; some combination of vertigo and deja-vu, and for a moment everything seemed so unreal to him- His wings and paws and tail and feathers and fur and beak felt utterly alien and detestable; that he should have two arms, two legs, and for the barest second it felt like his mind was being split open, unable at all to process his body. The world around him spun, sound draining out.

And then it was gone. He opened his eyes, and again his monstrous physiology felt as natural to him as breathing; all was as it should be, save for a slight bit of queasiness. Only now did he notice the shopkeeper staring at him in a unique mix of fear and irritation; Swiftbeak's presence at the stall had dramatically decreased the amount of window shoppers.

"...That is, I was wondering if you might have something to help dull the pain of a wound. Something I could buy. You see?"
 
"Ah, I'm sure your wares are wonderful, but...." Zato replied to the shopkeeper, and nodding towards Mary.

"We're actually in need of directions. Tell me, have you seen any Buzzian monks pass by? Maybe a group of Hellguard?" he asked.
 
Wordlessly, while always keeping his gaze on the gryphon just in case the beast became violent, the shopkeeper pointed at the table with the flasks.

After a moment, he realized that the gryphon was probably incapable of differentiating between the various products. So, the shopkeeper pulled out a flask containing a viscious green substance "Numbs pain, speeds up healing. Goes on the house just this once, as long as you leave quickly."

Holding the container, the merchant inspected the gryphon, offering the flask with an outstretched hand all the while "Where... should I put it?"

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The toy-merchant, Willard, narrowed his eyes in slight disappointment, but then thought for a moment, before answering the old monk's question "Haven't seen your lot for quite some time, I wonder what happened, but really, no one recently. But perhaps I could interest you in-"

Willard was interrupted by half a dozen figures entering his store behind the monk and the girl, the first and foremost calling out, voice that of a gruff male "Ho there, old monk, perhaps we've seen your friends around here somewhere. If you'd want, I'm sure we can lead you to them..." followed by a low chuckle.
 
Mary looked at the people and then moved behind the blind monk, something about them wasn't right...

"QUACK, QUACK, QUACK." the duck struggled in her arms, it's head pointed at them as it quacked aggressively.

Mary silenced the creature by putting one hand on it's head, as the other still held it tightly against her.
 
Vanessa walked into the room behind the mysterious figures saying "That is alright think you sirs but I know this monk and that little girl he is with so i think i can take it from here".

She still had her hands on her daggers ready to fight if they got violent . she knew that she was kinda out numbered and hoped she made out of this alive but she had to help the blind monk as best she could .
 
"Ah, well sir, if you could just give us some suggestions, that would be wonderful" Zato said to the kindly men who had addressed him.
 
Looking at Vanessa for a moment, one of the clothed figures piqued up "Hey, ain't that-" before he was immediately silenced by one of his colleagues.

Holding his gaze on Vanessa for a moment longer, the leader of the group answered "Really, missy, I wouldn't trust you with neither the old monk or the lil gal, you could have... indecent thoughts."

He gave a low chuckle, before turning back to the monk "Right, I could tell you the directions, but I somehow doubt you would be able to follow them... and considering the lil gal's own cluelessness, I doubt she'd be of much help either, so I'd really suggest you just... follow us, right?" he grinned.
 
Vanessa was angry and said "really me with an old man I would need a younger one for those indecent thoughts what about you what are you planning with an old monk and little girl". she gripped the daggers harder then looked at the man that was about to speak saying "hey ain't that "before he was cut off and said "ain't I what come out with it what was you going to say". she hoped with all her heart he did not know her past or anyone from her past to spill the can so to speak.
 
Looking back at Vanessa, the leader asked "Really, why're you so agressive? It's not like we did anything to you. All we wanted to do was help an elderly monk and a little girl find their way in this huge city, is that so strange?"
 
Vanessa looked them in the eye and said "alright then lead the way but I'm coming along after all you did not give out your names figure that best the first thing you would do in being nice after all the monk knows me for we have been traveling together for quite some time". She did not draw out her daggers or release her grip on them.
 
"Yeah, right, how about this, missy? Try to lecture us about being nice when you don't keep your hands on your weapons against someone unarmed the entire time." The leader answered, dismissively, before turning back to the old monk.

"So, how about it, old man?" He asked, leering.
 
She back up against a far wall keeping an eye on him if the monk went with him she would follow . "that is nice you say your unarmed but i do not know if that is true you could have an weapon somewhere in those cloths of yours". She did not move her hands the whole time she spoke she still did not draw her weapons she did not want to start a fight if she could avoid.
 
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