WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

[abraxasmods]

WELCOME TO THE FREE CITIES!

Welcome to The Free Cities! The portal exits outside the capital city of Cadens. The first impression of the city is its sheer size. It sprawls out across the landscape like a great hulking beast at rest. The wall that encircles it barely contains it, the buildings of Cadens practically bulging against its restraint.

The air here seems thicker somehow, tinged with a scent that’s acrid and smoky. Smog hangs high over the city, belched out by smokestacks that tower over the industrial district. The desert stretches out behind it, dotted with towers and dust clouds that disappear into the horizon. Multiple gates lead inside and each is staffed by soldiers in unfamiliar uniforms that wave a steady stream of people through without appearing to pay much attention. People are coming and going almost all of the time, to and from the outposts and areas of activity around the city proper. It’s difficult to tell just what’s out there beyond the impression of tall metal structures and a great deal of labor. Wagons carrying travelers to Libertas and Aquila roll out from the Travel Post outside the city wall.

Anyone who can sense magic will notice a much lower concentration here. No one will be stopped or questioned at the gate, even if the soldiers seem to take note of the fugitives from Thorne.

The activity and sheer number of citizens can be overwhelming. It’s crowded and loud and feels constantly in motion with everyone talking and yelling over each other. It’s easy to get swept up in the ever-moving throng or find oneself ducking into the mouth of a narrow alley just to breathe.

Anyone who’s willing to make their way to the northern part of the city and Portham Hall will find Prime Minister Marlo Reiner available to receive them.

Comments

[gynvael]

[ He would allow it. Alucard looks less likely to hiss at some unsuspecting passerby, which had been his main intention before...this. He's half-tempted himself to tell the vampire that if he has a crypt to decorate, Geralt would hardly be one to keep him. He's placed far more effort into this entire exchange than he ever meant to.

Alucard doesn't leave. And Geralt finds he doesn't tell him to. (One day, the lessons he's learned will finally stick.) ]

You mentioned. [ A close call. Geralt hadn't asked at the time. Even now, he isn't certain he wants to know more. He already senses what it might be, given Alucard's jumpiness around not a just Witcher, but people overall. ] Hunters.

[cryptsleeper]

Following the murders of my parents, yes.

[Somehow, that feels like permission to leave. Not because he's told the truth (he has, but in the broadest possible strokes, no mention of who was responsible or the timeframe or any of the rest) but because what else is there for him to be miserable about? Those are the causes, the rest are details.

He stands quietly. Pushes his chair in, and moving it at a slight angle in case Geralt would like a foot rest. The window Alucard sat behind looks out onto a side street, although it clearly needs a good wash from the outside.]

Thank you for the drink. It was...well. It was.

[gynvael]

[ That, Geralt knows a little from Hector—information he doesn't mention. He hadn't asked Hector, either. The man had simply volunteered it, which is telling.

He glances up as the vampire stands. Like all of their conversations, he's never quite certain where they stand at the end of it. Geralt knows where he does—he hasn't ever been vague about it—but Alucard has been...

Less forthcoming. Wavering between seeking companionship and not wanting it from a hunter of his kind. Geralt hasn't gone into detail about what it means, a Witcher. It's only now that it feels important, that he not be considered the same as men who hunt down monsters because they deem them unworthy of life. ]

I was a boy when the humans came for us. [ He takes the chair for his foot, since it's been freed. Part of him is curious if this will be the last time he sees Alucard. Perhaps that would be for the best. ] We each find our own way to live with them.

[cryptsleeper]

[The humans.

Now that is a pointed and particular word choice. One that gives Alucard genuine pause, and the way he tilts his head ever just so is a gesture that wolf made quite a few times back in the Horizon. But beyond precise words, there is that little flicker of reoccurring themes, across worlds apparently. Hunters end up inviting the ire of the mob as much as their quarry.

All because humans are too scared to understand or even make an attempt.

For him, that feels like more reason to seek space for the time being. Perhaps right now, with no obvious grave to curl up in, he can let some of the anger out in the Horizon. The place is mallable after all, and--

--the rest can be dealt with there.

The dhampir offers a polite nod, acknowledging that what Geralt just said is a display of vulnerability and he won't take it at face value. But for now, it is probably more than enough.]

I think you've just had more time than a twenty year old to do that.

[With that, the dhampir departs. No better for any of this, but not worse either. Balancing out that initial flash of fury counts for a lot.]