Patchwork Universe

Astraeus · Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 7:50 am Post subject: A Beast In The Slums

[Astraeus arrives from The Wildwood: Discovery And Departure]

Bounding out of the mist came a figure unlike any normal visitor to The Slums. Naked, but for an artfully draped animal skin and a wreath of vine and ivy about his head, he was human from the waist up, while his lower half resembled the hind quarters of a goat, but hugely muscular.

After his sudden entrance, he stopped, arms raised in a gesture of horror, his expression aghast as he gazed around himself at the thickly gathered buildings and narrow alleyways of The Slums.

"What is this terrible place?" he moaned in anguish. The horns on his forehead had shrunk to mere nubbins and he cowered. Where were the trees? Where would he hide?

Then into action again. He squatted low and then leapt, forward and up, catching the balustrade of a balcony jutting out over the street. He easily swung himself up and then leapt again, up and again, up, and once more until he reached the roof. This place might not have woods, but it had a craggy hillside of sorts, up here among the tiles and chimneys. Here at least he would feel at home and might evade notice.

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

It wasn't long before the visitor realised that he wasn't alone on the roof. Next to him was a large heavily built man who was leaning against a chimney which had given his face a slight shadow about it, but it was obvious that the man was well into his thirties and very scarred about his face.

Turning to face the beastman he simply said "Who the hell are you?"

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

The stranger grinned slightly and looked the barely clad man up and down before saying "Stranger? You know I would never have guessed if you hadn't told me." before letting off a short, almost bark like laugh. He shifted slightly as if to scratch his back on the chimney.

He appeared to be gauging Astraeus as much as Astraeus was gauging him, when he said "This here is the Slums of the great city of Peerblind" his voice was filled with sarcasm, especially when he said the word 'great'. Then looking over towards the gatehouse, where there was still a lot of milling about.

Squinting slightly he said "What mist do you mean?"

Astraeus · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 3:01 pm Post subject:

A human! Perhaps this was a city of humans. That would explain the smell at least, Astraeus thought.

He peered at the human. The man appeared both relaxed and unthreatening, but there was no telling who, or what, he worshipped. Cunningly, Astraeus decided to be cautious.

"I am... a stranger to this place." he said, watching the large man even more carefully to try and gauge his reactions. "What do you call this place, and what do you know of the mysterious mist?"

Astraeus · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 3:12 pm Post subject:

[OOC - slight time slippage above, it would seem.]

"The magical mist. The mist that brought me here from the wood. And a long way it must have brought me, for I have never heard of a place called Peerblind."

Astraeus squatted on his haunches. Something occured to him.

"Why are you up here? Men, in my experience, don't normally live on the rooves of their buildings."

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

(ooc - dam slips)

The heavily built man looked slightly surprised, maybe even shocked at this. "You've never heard of Peerblind? They must be some powerful mists." Laughing slightly he looked around and said "Sorry, but I don't see any mists. Which direction is it in?"

The man then pulled himself up and then pointed over towards a building in the street below. It had a large pole with a red rag on the end hanging from an upper-floor window. "As to why I'm here. Well, I'm being paid a sum of money to watch that there building for a small gang call 'The Red Rags'." Glancing over at Astreaus he said "Apparently they were seen making some rather shady sounding deals with some gentleman who then went and bust up the gatehouse, before disappearing into thin-air with a rather well-respected Sergeant of the Guard."

Turning back to the hide-out he said "So I was asked by old man Vincent of 'The Hammers' to keep an eye on them, being one of the few thugs round here who actually has some brains."

Turning back to Astreaus again he held out a surprisingly clean hand and said "Sylvester Canatharon, good to meet you. I'm sorry but I can't help but notice that you have very little clothes, small horns and goat legs." The man didn't appear to find this at all strange, more simply slightly interesting. He had the air of someone who appeared to be completely at ease with everything that went on around him no matter what.

Astraeus · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 4:20 pm Post subject:

"The mist is over there, surely you see it?" Astraeus gestured towards the wall through which he had emerged only minutes before.

He looked at the hand presented to him and, remembering some of the customs of men he had met in the past, grasped it firmly. "It is a rare delight to make your acquaintance, Sylvester Canatharon of Peerblind. I am Astraeus, son of Silenus, of the wild woods of Arcadia."

Releasing Sylvester's hand, he looked towards the house that the self-confessed thug was watching. He shrugged. Men were always so busy, and so often their business lead to fighting and war. There was a pause.

"Goat legs?" he said suddenly. He looked down. "Yes, I suppose they are like those of a goat. Funny. I'd never noticed the resemblance before."

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

Sylvester squinted in the direction that Astraeus had pointed before briefly glancing back to the house and then back to the half-goat half-man. Looking slightly apologetic he said "I'm sorry but I really can't see it."

The man looked down at Astraeus' legs again and he said "Yes, I can assure you they certainly are." He then looked back towards the way Astraeus had pointed and said "Interesting. Is that where your Arcadia is? Because I've never heard of there either."

Astraeus · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 4:53 pm Post subject:

"What a great mystery this mysterious mist is!" Astraeus exclaimed. "You see it not when it is plainly there, which only compounds the mystery still further. Perhaps it is something visible only to my kind. Or invisible only to your kind."

"Perhaps we could find another to ask?"

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

Sylvester grinned slightly at the exclamation and the double use of mystery. He nodded slightly in agreement with Astraeus however. As the half naked half goat half man finished all he could do however was look around himself and say "I don't think theres anyone else up here." and laughed.

He paused for a second and then said "And I would go down to the street but I have to keep an eye on the house without being seen. And you wouldn't get a paticularly warm reception."

Astraeus · Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 10:56 pm Post subject:

"I wouldn't? Why not? Are my kind disliked here?" Astraeus asked. As he spoke, he glanced towards the bustle by the gatehouse. He didn't like the idea of being hunted.

Sylvester noticed then that the horns on Astraeus' head, which had noticably elongated during the course of their conversation, had shrunk to merest nubbins again. More interestingly though, was the fact that suddenly Astraeus was actually quite hard to see. It wasn't so much that the goat-man had shrunk, or gained the colouration of the brick or anything, merely that his own glance tended to just slip past the demi-human.

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

Sylvester shook his head and said "It isn't really that, it's more that you'd be considered slightly abnormal in the Slums if you see what I mean." He then took a few seconds to place all of his attention on the demi-human before giving up and contenting himself with looking back at the house and saying "How are you doing that?"

Astraeus · Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 10:06 am Post subject:

"How am I doing what? Being abnormal? I really don't quite know how to answer that question." Astraeus answered somewhat absently, his gaze still drawn to the people by the gatehouse. "So many people."

He took a step further back from the edge of the rooftop, and turned to face Sylvester. The odd effect about him faded as he did so, and his horns grew slightly.

"I think I'm going to explore the mysterious mist some more now. Is there anything I should know about the Slums before I go in that direction?"

He gestured parallel to the wall of mist that it seemed only he could see.

Larkin Quickgrip · Strong Joined: 21 Jan 2004 Posts: 254 Location: The Slums

Sylvester thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Just try to keep your head down if you're going ot be wandering the streets that's all."

He nodded at the demi-human and said "If you ever return just look me up alright? I'll be somewhere in the city." He then turned back to the house once more and said "It's been good meeting you."

Astraeus · Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:11 pm Post subject:

"Good luck with your scouting operation, Sylvester Canatharon. As for my return, well, I have no idea how I got here and no idea if I can leave... so we'll just have to see. It's been good meeting you too!"

With that, Astraeus took one last look around. Then he backed up a couple of paces and darted forward. At the edge of the roof he leapt, his caprine legs propelling him up and over the entire width of the alleyway to the higher rooftops opposite, a jump no human could have made.

He landed running, sure and agile, across the chaotic slopes and angles of the rooves of the slums. Then he was gone from sight.