| Logs |
2010 August 29
| Neverneverwhere |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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| Realms: Taps Logs |
Restless in Roseville
The caravan has been traveling together for quite a few years. Some of the members have been with it even longer than Suraksha, back when Corbett was the leader. A lot of things have held over from his day, such as the "don't stick your nose where it isn't wanted" rule, and the whole shebang tends to go along fairly well. There are occasional spats, since the caravan does operate as a fluid, oddball group of siblings, but very rarely does it come to anything as serious as blows.
The fact that several of the members of the entourage don't seem to age isn't mentioned too often. When new folks join up, they're given the ground rules and then left to figure out the various oddities of the caravan. It doesn't take long to learn you don't wake the cook Buddy up in the middle of the night, you don't mistreat animals (especially around Del, who can kick like a mule), and you don't ignore it when Dominic tells you not to take a certain road. Those that have been with the travelers for a while eventually realize there are at least as many non-humans as humans in the group, and that a large number of the humans are Taps.
It's summertime and the caravan is making the most of the good weather to get over the Rockies on the way east. They've got a load of carpets from a trader in San Francisco, spices bound for Chicago from the spice merchants of Asia and the West Indies, and a half-dozen hangers-on looking for help through the badlands of what used to be Nevada. Two days out of San Francisco they're camped just west of Old Sacramento, and Joe is returning from his ride-ahead to check out the lay of the land. Dom keeps track of the conditions of the land, but Joe keeps an eye out for the people.
Dominic is a solid, predictable fellow. After seeing to the needs of his mare, Azure, and pampering her just a little with a saved stalk of carrot, he does a circuit of the camp, making sure he didn't miss anything by double checking the surrounding area with his eyes. He rejoins his fellows after, and looks to assist them with their own duties before finally settling in for the night.
Chanticleer spends most of his time in camp mending things that are broken -- for example, at this moment it is a spare wooden wheel, which they found out was broken not long after making camp. He isn't a carpenter, but he can fix some things. Once he does that, he helps to settle the animals in for the night, feeding and watering them, paying perhaps a scosch more attention to the somewhat plain-looking horse that doesn't seem to have immediate duties.
Joe gets right past the folks that are quietly watching the perimeter and brings his horse to Del and Chanti to be groomed and staked out for the night. He is breathing a little heavily as he asks Chanticleer, "You seen Her Nibs?"
Chanti has by now learned some of the human slang, particularly what's used in the caravan. He nods, "Last I saw her, she was in her wagon, having dinner and going over the trade records."
Joe nods and slaps Chanti on the shoulder, eyes flickering around, "Come with me. We'll grab Dom on the way. Gonna need some good eyes out in front." Chanticleer nods, immediately becoming alert as he goes with Joe to find Dom.
Dominic was about to sit with the others as the evening meal is being served... he likes to stay at the edge of the group, so he can hear the night sounds over the chatter of the wagoneers, but close enough that he can contribute to the conversation if he likes. Joe, who has known Dom since he joined the caravan, spots the navigator Tap and gives a sharp whistle to catch his attention, tipping his head toward Suraksha's wagon to indicate the Tap should meet Chanti and Joe there.
Dominic hears the whistle, and his head jerks... when he sees it's Joe he nods, understanding the other fellow's implicit request. He ignores his rumbling belly, and makes his way to the Lady's wagon. He doesn't call her that -- she teased him and told him he was being silly when he spoke it aloud -- but he always rather thinks of her in that way. Maybe it's because of her dual nature. It never hurts to be polite and respectful to a large feline.
Joe is dressed in his scouting clothes, which are purposely very neutral in color and cut. Since he's the caravan's first contact in a lot of towns and villages, it's usually best that he look as unremarkable as possible. One doesn't want to head into a New Catholic town wearing scarlet and orange motley, or into a Luddite settlement carrying too much tech. Those plain clothes are road-dusty and a little sweat-streaked now and his earnest face is set into hard lines as he raps on the door of Suraksha's wagon, keeping his voice low as he says to the two men with him, "We may have a problem up the road about ten miles."
Dominic nods when he sees Chanti... the two of them are so unalike. The other is a slip of a man, and Dom is big, with a little bit of a belly. His skin is so perfect, and Dom's is leather. Chanti is pretty, and Dom is... well, not ugly, but certainly plain -- not like when he was young and fresh. Still, Dom doesn't envy the other fellow. Much. "That so? People or the road itself?" he queries of Joe, wondering what the advance man knows.
Joe flashes Dom a grin, "You'd know if the road was a danger, Dommy. You've kept us out from under rockslides for years now. No, the road's in good condition." Chanticleer nods pleasantly to Dom, though his expression is concerned; he wonders what's gotten Joe concerned. Dominic is relieved: he'd hate to make a mistake where his primary responsibility is concerned. That said, dealing with the earth is relatively easy. Dealing with people... much harder.
Suraksha is busily chewing on dinner with Del and a powerfully built, very shaggy older man. The threesome are all listening attentively to a fragile looking, iridescent-winged woman with insectile eyes and multiple limbs. In her several hands she's holding (and gesturing with, as she talks) a quill pen, the pen pot, and also several pieces of scroll, unrolled to various spots. The paper is covered with writing and numbers written in a delicate, almost spidery hand. On the tiny table lies a sharp knife to keep the quill sharp. At the knocking on the door, Suraksha glances at the dragonfly woman, who pauses a moment to put several objects down, then shimmers within an iridescent bubble for a heartbeat. By the time Suraksha grins and calls, "Enter!" the woman appears to be simply a very delicate looking human with colorful hair and bright eyes.
Joe opens the wagon's door and says, "We got some trouble up ahead, Sura. Road's in good shape." Chanticleer slips in, nodding and smiling as is his wont, though sobering quickly to look at Joe and see what news he has. Dominic eases in behind Joe and Chanti, giving a nod to the caravan leader, with a mouthed 'ma'am,' not wanting to step on Joe's report. The young man grins over his shoulder at Dom, then back at Suraksha, "But Roseville's just got itself a new mayor. Got elected on an anti-vagrant platform and some word has trickled back this way that they're being extra-nosy about caravans coming through." The caravan does its best to present as respectable merchants, but it's not easy to seem non-threatening to everyone when you've got such a varied group on your hands.
Dominic puts his fingers to the bridge of his nose. Oy. "Politicians," he mutters under his breath. Many things have changed, but the most important things, sadly, have not.
Suraksha shifts, curling up cross-legged on her big cushion so there's more room for everyone in her combined tent-wagon. She puts her plate in her lap, having a sip from her mug as she considers... then she looks to the big packmaster, "Ohkwari, do we have any deliveries tagged for there, or can we skip it?"
Joe perches on the corner of Suraksha's foldaway table. Ohkwari's face rarely shows much emotion, and his rumbling voice is fairly flat as he says, "Got two. Won't get paid if we don't drop 'em off, and we need the scratch to re-provision for the trip over the mountains. Can't really skip it."
Suraksha sighs and nods, "All right." She thinks for a bit, then glances at Dominic and Joe, "Can we split into two groups? Is there any other good route past that area?" Chanticleer arches a brow at news of Roseville. He's uncomfortable; anti-vagrant policies usually come along with unwritten anti-non-human policies. He can understand about needing provisions to go through Donner Pass, though. He remains silent, listening and learning. Del is sitting back in her seat, arms crossed. One knee bounces nervously and she's tapping the fingers of one hand against her other arm. She doesn't like splitting the caravan up. It goes against her nature.
Dominic holds up a finger and looks off to one side as his mind slides into the local leyline. Earth... and water. Slick, treacherous, unstable. "Mudslides. Ain't none too safe, that alternate route. People get through okay, mounted or not... but I wouldn't want to risk a wagon," he says after a moment, his eyes refocusing.
Suraksha smiles faintly, leaning a bit so her shoulder rests against Del. The two women have been companions for many years now, and Suraksha understands Del's reluctance... but also doesn't want to endanger her extended caravan family. Right now this is the most comforting she can be, without being distracting. Joe says, "So, going around ain't really something we can do. Damn." He's not fidgeting, but there is a definite air of wanting to be moving about him, "My concern is how nosy they're being about caravans. I know we ain't got a lot of contraband, but there's some of us that don't really wanna have someone patting us down." Chanticleer's lips quirk. That's rather the truth.
Dominic scratches his beard. "Anything saying we gotta let folks know how many are in the caravan? Maybe we do a shell game with the folks we don't want them to see?" he suggests.
Suraksha sighs thoughtfully again, the golden pupils of her eyes huge and glowing slightly in the lantern-light. "Let's see... what keeps people from being patted down? If they're clearly not carrying, if they're very ugly, if they don't look like people, if they're not there... anything else?" She glances inquiringly around the tent-wagon at everyone else there.
Dominic's lips purse. "Sickness. But that might not be a door we want to open." Suraksha nods slowly, considering as she gives everyone a chance to think.
Del says, "Yeah. Quarantine, but they might just prefer to throw fire at us from a distance if they think there might be sickness. I'm with Dominic on the shell game. Don't let 'em see who-all we've got with us."
Chanticleer is very, very thoughtful. "I agree we can't split up the caravan," he says, his voice a contralto with an unusual (for humans) accent. "At the same time we can't be too visually unpleasant or they'll look for an excuse to not let us in." He looks to Joe. "Was a reason given for the anti-vagrant laws? Were they having particular problems with homeless vagrants, or scofflaws, or something in particular? That'll tell us what tack to not take in trying to stay under their attention. Suraksha looks inquiringly at Joe.
Joe makes an expression that is supposed to be a smile, but doesn't quite reach his eyes, "Far as I can tell, the good people of Roseville are tired of undesirables dropping off caravans and settling in their town. Or at least that's the official line. I got a feeling that they had some unpleasant episodes with a stranger or two." His nostrils flare, "Couple of kids went missing, and the town's all up in arms."
Dominic smiles fractionally. "If only it was so easy that we could all just be visually happy as peaches to be on a caravan, and that's it."
Chanticleer purses his lips. "Some sort of announcement we can make to the mayor's men? That we're not dropping off anyone?" He blinks and frowns. "Actually... are we dropping off anyone, other than packages?"
Joe says, "One. Kid says he's visiting family up there."
Suraksha nods slowly, frowning as she quietly growls, "Damn sapients-cannibals. When will they learn they're hurting all of us when they act so irresponsibly?" She sighs, sipping her tea and thinking a bit more, then finally nods. "All right, we'll do the entertainers' shell game, folks. Get all the pretty boys and girls dressed scantily, keep people moving all the time. Get our glamour-weak hidden. Get the odder ones glamoured as cranky old folks or as animals." To Joe she adds, "Have I met this kid?"
Dominic nudges Chanti at mention of pretty boys. "That's you," he says helpfully.
Chanticleer nods, though he winces a little. The 'entertainers shell game' includes him. He's still not used to wearing even a modicum of armor. He smiles wanly to Dominic. "No worries. Hopefully they'll be taken in."
Joe shakes his head, "Nope. He's a short-timer and he joined right before we left The City. Didn't figure you needed to okay him if he was going to be with us less than a week."
Suraksha rises fluidly to her feet and growls quietly, "I want to meet him, please." To the others she waves a hand, "All right, folks, we've played this game before. Let's get rolling, and stay safe out there!" She follows Joe out of the caravan to meet the Roseville kid. The three that were in the wagon with Suraksha slip out, scattering through the camp to let the regular members of the caravan know what to be looking for and to gather up the glamour-strong to help with the hiding. Dominic too ambles out of the wagon and starts passing the word, letting folks know what's up, and Chanticleer is discreetly helping to prepare the caravan for the 'entertainers shell game.'
The kid that's dropping off the caravan at Roseville is around the fire with the other passengers. He's been riding in one of the bunk wagons with the younger members of the caravan and eating with whoever offers him food first. Scrawny at best, he's got straggly black hair and a pale face, but his clothes are good quality and about two sizes too large. That's not unusual, since he looks like he might be fourteen and have a lot of growing left to do.
Suraksha settles down at the passengers' fire and smiles, "Evening, all! Hope everything is going smoothly for you? Anything anyone needs help with?" She's seated as close to the young man as she can, and she's got Dominic and Joe standing amiably at her back. She takes a relaxedly careful look at the young man as she glances around the group. Dominic isn't threatening or imposing. He's just there, like he always is – a rock – thinking of what else they could do to prepare for this stopoff... likely want to spend as little time there as possible. "You want me to stay in town an support, or scout the road ahead?" he quietly asks Joe.
Joe's voice is just as quiet, "We'll figure that out later." Dominic nods and practices being quiet from there. He's a master at that.
Most of the passengers around the fire are cheerful but tired. It's not a terribly hard trip for the first two days, but many of them just aren't used to the road. There are some complaints of sore thighs and aching feet, but nothing more serious. The boy that's going to be stopping in Roseville is quiet, concentrating on the bowl of stew he's eating. Suraksha tries to check the boy, but is distracted by people getting up and moving around the fire for more stew. She sighs softly, internally, but simply waits patiently for another opportunity... and in the interim she listens to her passengers for any needs they might have. Maybe it's the interference of so many people all gathered close around or the distraction worry for her people coming up, but the kid doesn't register much. He's alive – she can tell that – and he feels human... and that's about it.
Out amongst the regulars of the caravanners, Del moves with Chanticleer to talk to the people who most want to be ignored – Del herself doesn't want anyone touching her. After all, it's difficult to hide that you have a horse's legs and tail if someone gets his hands on you. Del mutters about nosy townsfolk and actually stomps one of her feet in frustration, "You going to help us hide people, pretty-boy, or are you going to set yourself up as a distraction?"
Chanticleer bites his lip. "Good question. Let's say that I'll help hide people, but if I can be spared to distract, I will."
Del nods and pauses, hands on her hips as she looks around from where she stands with Chanti, "Sounds good. After all, you could get through a pat-down pretty well. You don't actually look all that different, do you?"
Chanticleer makes a quiet sound. "Not too different, no. I hope."
Del nods and holds herself back from stomping her foot again, "Damn. Damn, damn, and double-damn. Roseville's been one of our regular stops for years. I don't want to have to re-route through the south."
Chanticleer nods a little. "The Kyburz pass isn't terribly good, comparatively; no. I'm sure Dom could get us through, but they seem to be subject to odd weather there."
Del nods and stomps her foot again, not seeming to realize she's done it, "Alrighty, then. Let's get things organized." The general plan shapes up: several of the glamour-strong are assigned to make the stranger elements of the caravan effectively invisible. The trick is going to be keeping people from walking through an apparent empty space and running smack-dab into a glamoured wagon.
Meanwhile, over by the passengers' fire, the boy stays quiet and concentrates on his stew as a couple of the traveling families ask Suraksha and her two companions about what they should expect in going over the mountains. Suraksha calmly explains what that will be like. While she does not downplay the dangers, she does make it clear (again, as she did when the passengers hired on with her caravan) that if they all follow instructions, everyone should be fine. Her voice is a soothing purr as she speaks, and several of the children curled up against adults start nodding sleepily. Suraksha smiles when she's done explaining a few minutes later, and glances around the circle, adding, "Does that make sense to everyone? Any questions?"
Some of the travelers are quite solemn. They knew they were in for a rough time, but knowing and experiencing are often two different things. The boy is staying very quiet, even though he's finished his stew by now. He's also staying as still as he can, like a child in grammar school not wanting the teacher to call on him. Suraksha nods as there are no questions, and adds, "Tomorrow we'll be passing through Roseville. Anyone dropping off there? I heard there was a boy who was -- speak up, son?" She looks around the circle, then directly at the scrawny boy sitting alone... and she looks with the Sight.
Suraksha can tell the boy is human. He's also got very little downward flow of energy; it's almost all earth upward. As a result the lower three chakras are well-developed, but the upper four are barely flickering. He's got a great sense of self-preservation, but not much ability to think past that, or for empathy. Which, Suraksha knows, means he's really not very perceptive or spiritual either. He is, in fact, likely to be quite an amoral little bastard. The young woman sighs softly -- she can't drop this off at Roseville. Not in good conscience. The boy shifts nervously as Suraksha calls directly on him, and clears his throat. When he speaks it's obvious he's trying to make his voice lower than it actually is. "I'll be visiting family there."
Suraksha is watching closely with the Sight, and Sees the boy's base and Will chakras flare when he says that. She knows he's doing his best to keep his hide intact, so what he's saying may well be a story. She sighs softly and shakes her head, her voice calm and soothing, "I sure hope so. Roseville just got a new mayor, and he was elected on a no-vagrants plank." She looks around at the others, adding, "We'll all want to be on our best behavior there, please, since they may be anxious and worried about us. I suspect if we all stay close to the wagons, though, and give them no cause for alarm, we can pass through relatively quickly. Sound good, everyone?" She's watching the boy out of the corner of her eye as she says that.
The kid may be set on self-preservation, but he's not a very good actor. His breathing speeds up a bit as Suraksha talks about the new mayor and he goes slightly paler. His only overt response, however, is to nod jerkily once. That base chakra flare even more brightly. Suraksha says a pleasant good night to the sleepy passengers, then smiles at the kid as she rises, holding out a hand, "I'm Suraksha. What's your name? Walk with me a bit, please?" Dominic is paying closer attention to the kid, particularly when the Lady goes right up to him. Staying back, of course, his attention is harder to notice... and once Suraksha is right there, he can cover by making it seem like he's just keeping an eye on her.
The kid is jittery when Suraksha turns to him. He takes her hand, shaking it. There's a slight hesitation as he says, "Call me Daniel."
Suraksha draws him to his feet with a smile, "Daniel, eh? Come, let's walk." She puts a companionable arm about his shoulders and heads off towards the other side of camp, where more of her people are. She knows her back is safe, with both Dominic and Joe there. It's not until they're some distance away that she murmurs softly to the boy, "You don't really have relatives in Roseville, do you, Daniel." It's not quite a statement, nor a question.
Daniel jumps as the little woman puts her arm around him. He's a young man and Sura is quite pretty, so his pulse speeds up a little. At the same time he obviously doesn't really seem comfortable with her familiarity. At her words he splutters, "'Course I do! I have an aunt there. Sally. She's my mom's second-oldest sister. She's a teacher." Suraksha mmhmmms calmly, continuing to walk and giving him time to think about what he's saying. Dominic follows along quietly, giving the two a lot of space.
Daniel is rattling on, "I'm going to stay with her for a year and then go back home. She needs help around the place. And I..." He starts to stumble over his words, "I mean, she's supposed to be giving me some extra schooling..." It's obvious he's losing the thread of his story in his nervousness and his eyes are flickering out toward the edges of the camp. Outside the circle of safety, they're in wilderness. Suraksha paces slowly along with the boy, listening silently and letting him rattle himself. She can't help a faint internal smile -- this is precisely what Fearsome Grandmother used to do with her, when she was much younger! Finally the kid stutters to a halt and says very unhappily, "Well, shit." He runs both hands through his hair, making it stand up even more untidily.
Suraksha smiles as she turns to face the boy, clasping her hands behind her and unwittingly falling into relaxed parade rest. "I'll take it that's a no, then. So, what do you really want, Daniel? It looks like you need regular food and a job, but is that what you want?"
Daniel is visibly nervous now. He glances over at the two men that have been following along behind Suraksha and shifts his balance a little. It's subtle, but everyone there has seen someone getting ready to run before, "I just needed to get out of The City. Real bad." Dominic sees the signs, but doesn't tense himself in expectation of chasing after the boy. After all, what needs to be done with Daniel isn't clear, but it's certainly not Dominic's responsibility to punish the boy for anything he's done. No, running isn't the issue. He takes up arms against the Lady, though, and he and Dominic will have words.
Suraksha smiles pleasantly, "Please don't run, Daniel. It upsets the wolfhounds. Now. You are out of The City, and I'm certainly not going to turn this caravan around and take you back. On the other hand, I don't want you to mess things up for everyone else in Roseville. So how does this sound: you tell me why you had to get out of The City so badly, and I'll consider offering you a job -- at least until the next city after Roseville, where if you want you can leave."
Daniel shifts from foot to foot as he considers. Finally he says, "I got on the bad side of a real bad character. And I prefer too keep all the pieces I got in one place, so I figured that place ought to be elsewhere."
Suraksha tilts her head inquiringly as she murmurs, "Who might that bad character be?" She's curious; she knows most of the 'big names' in The City by at least reputation, if not by sight.
Daniel's voice has gone up several notes as he's been talking, "McNally." McNally, they all know, is a powerful and unforgiving crime boss. His little mini-kingdom has been built on the premise of "Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out." If Daniel is on the bad side of him, anywhere except San Francisco is where the kid needs to be.
Suraksha blinks, then murmurs, "Sufferin' serpents! Yes, out of The City would be best for you." Dominic wasn't trying to listen in. When he catches the name 'McNally' squeaked out by Daniel, though, his fingers twitch. While he doesn't know as much as the Lady, he's heard enough about that poisonous man. He looks at Joe, then back at Suraksha with Daniel, wondering what's gonna happen next.
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