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Leaving behind the scene of their last encounter once the storm had abated. They were still several days out from reaching their destination, but at least they were moving again. Their rate of progress aside, they were actually making progress again; that, combined with Altanis's improved mood after the encounter with the gem in the cave, would have to be enough for the moment.
Altanis rapped on the window separating her from the truck cab, getting the attention of Joey. When the window was opened, the centaur leaned forward to rest her chin on the rim of the window, leaning inside the cab. "Tell me, miss Blaese..." she murmured. "You seemed rather apprehensive about the subject of our destination. Why is that?"
"Not apprehensive, really..." Joey mumbled. "Just, y'know...s'a big place. What connects this world to the rest of 'em out there in the Crossroads. Kind of important, y'know?"
Altanis nodded her head ever so slightly. "Yes. I have some idea." It was no different from any of the major cities back home, she supposed. They all had their own ties to each other, and to the world at large. "So was it only that you have never been there yourself, then?"
"Yeah, guess so." The mechanic shrugged helplessly. "Whaddya want me to say? Never really had any reason to go there, only know about it by reputation."
"Then tell me of this reputation," the centaur murmured. "What do you know about the city? I would like to be somewhat prepared for what we will find when we arrive there."
"You'd, uh... Honestly you'd probably be better off talkin' to Joshua about that than me." Joey shifted uneasily in her seat, adjusting her hat with one hand. "He's actually been there before, could probably tell you a whole hell of a lot more than I could. I only got hearsay from folks that came and went through the little town I'm from."
"That will do fine, for now." Altanis curled her fingers around the rim of the window. "I suspect mister Graham is in a poor mood, at the moment, and do not wish to disturb him." While he may have advocated for killing the gem they encountered, he didn't quite approve of her methods for doing so. Even with her explanation that it was all a farce to make Flint let her guard down so as to easily dispose of her, he had been less than pleased.
"Killing," he had said, "is just a chore to be done, thoroughly and cleanly. There should be no joy taken in it, and it should be an act all of its own."
Clearly, what Altanis had done disturbed him greatly. A sentiment, she supposed, that was partially shared by the others in their little group. Joey was equal parts horrified, disgusted, and flabbergasted by the entire thing. Morgans seemed almost entirely disinterested, her sole reaction being a simple "Gross. But neat." when she had seen the aftermath. And Galand had shown no interest or care in it at all, only lamenting that it had been a simple execution without even a fight.
All different kinds of viewpoints to be had, it seemed.
"So again, miss Blaese," Altanis spoke up after a brief pause. "Tell me what you know of this city. Karim, was it?"
"Yeah, that's the place." Joey sighed heavily. "Alright, so, look.... I don't actually know a whole lot, but here's what I can tell ya: it's a big city. Prosperous and flourishing and whatnot. Just about the only place on this great big disk of a world that isn't trying to kill you; in fact, from what people who been there have to say about it, it's pretty damn nice." The mechanic paused to focus on the road for a moment. "Sits right in the center of the world. S'where all the water in the rivers comes from. It all flows outta that city, so you can imagine it's a pretty big deal."
"Oh, yes, I can certainly imagine as much." Altanis smirked lightly. Just that one resource alone, on a desert world, would make it have tremendous bargaining power. She could already tell there was more to it than just that, though. That would have been too simple.
"Used to be under the control of...someone else. Way before my time, so I dunno what to say about that." The mechanic shrugged helplessly, before forging on ahead. "Place is basically run by a buncha different noble houses and groups and whatnot. From what I heard, though, there's only two real big ones that actually really matter. Can't really remember the names of 'em right now, but uh...yeah. You don't wanna mess around with 'em, they keep the peace by basically any means necessary. Got plenty of muscle in both the, uh...muscle sense as well as in the politics and running things sense."
"How delightfully vague." Altanis snickered, lightly prodding at the back of Joey's head with a soft nudge of psychic force. "Is there anything about these two ruling houses you can tell me?"
"Not...really. Like I said, never actually been to the city, so it's just as much a mystery to me as it's gonna be to you when we get there." She shook her head. "Bandages could tell you all about 'em, I bet, whenever you wanna bother him about it."
"Mmm. Perhaps when we next stop to rest."
Altanis rapped on the window separating her from the truck cab, getting the attention of Joey. When the window was opened, the centaur leaned forward to rest her chin on the rim of the window, leaning inside the cab. "Tell me, miss Blaese..." she murmured. "You seemed rather apprehensive about the subject of our destination. Why is that?"
"Not apprehensive, really..." Joey mumbled. "Just, y'know...s'a big place. What connects this world to the rest of 'em out there in the Crossroads. Kind of important, y'know?"
Altanis nodded her head ever so slightly. "Yes. I have some idea." It was no different from any of the major cities back home, she supposed. They all had their own ties to each other, and to the world at large. "So was it only that you have never been there yourself, then?"
"Yeah, guess so." The mechanic shrugged helplessly. "Whaddya want me to say? Never really had any reason to go there, only know about it by reputation."
"Then tell me of this reputation," the centaur murmured. "What do you know about the city? I would like to be somewhat prepared for what we will find when we arrive there."
"You'd, uh... Honestly you'd probably be better off talkin' to Joshua about that than me." Joey shifted uneasily in her seat, adjusting her hat with one hand. "He's actually been there before, could probably tell you a whole hell of a lot more than I could. I only got hearsay from folks that came and went through the little town I'm from."
"That will do fine, for now." Altanis curled her fingers around the rim of the window. "I suspect mister Graham is in a poor mood, at the moment, and do not wish to disturb him." While he may have advocated for killing the gem they encountered, he didn't quite approve of her methods for doing so. Even with her explanation that it was all a farce to make Flint let her guard down so as to easily dispose of her, he had been less than pleased.
"Killing," he had said, "is just a chore to be done, thoroughly and cleanly. There should be no joy taken in it, and it should be an act all of its own."
Clearly, what Altanis had done disturbed him greatly. A sentiment, she supposed, that was partially shared by the others in their little group. Joey was equal parts horrified, disgusted, and flabbergasted by the entire thing. Morgans seemed almost entirely disinterested, her sole reaction being a simple "Gross. But neat." when she had seen the aftermath. And Galand had shown no interest or care in it at all, only lamenting that it had been a simple execution without even a fight.
All different kinds of viewpoints to be had, it seemed.
"So again, miss Blaese," Altanis spoke up after a brief pause. "Tell me what you know of this city. Karim, was it?"
"Yeah, that's the place." Joey sighed heavily. "Alright, so, look.... I don't actually know a whole lot, but here's what I can tell ya: it's a big city. Prosperous and flourishing and whatnot. Just about the only place on this great big disk of a world that isn't trying to kill you; in fact, from what people who been there have to say about it, it's pretty damn nice." The mechanic paused to focus on the road for a moment. "Sits right in the center of the world. S'where all the water in the rivers comes from. It all flows outta that city, so you can imagine it's a pretty big deal."
"Oh, yes, I can certainly imagine as much." Altanis smirked lightly. Just that one resource alone, on a desert world, would make it have tremendous bargaining power. She could already tell there was more to it than just that, though. That would have been too simple.
"Used to be under the control of...someone else. Way before my time, so I dunno what to say about that." The mechanic shrugged helplessly, before forging on ahead. "Place is basically run by a buncha different noble houses and groups and whatnot. From what I heard, though, there's only two real big ones that actually really matter. Can't really remember the names of 'em right now, but uh...yeah. You don't wanna mess around with 'em, they keep the peace by basically any means necessary. Got plenty of muscle in both the, uh...muscle sense as well as in the politics and running things sense."
"How delightfully vague." Altanis snickered, lightly prodding at the back of Joey's head with a soft nudge of psychic force. "Is there anything about these two ruling houses you can tell me?"
"Not...really. Like I said, never actually been to the city, so it's just as much a mystery to me as it's gonna be to you when we get there." She shook her head. "Bandages could tell you all about 'em, I bet, whenever you wanna bother him about it."
"Mmm. Perhaps when we next stop to rest."
Starting Quest: Just Business
Post Word Count: 905
Quest Word Count: 905/5,000