WELCOME TO NOTT!

[abraxasmods]

WELCOME TO NOTT!

Welcome to Nott! A blend of old world Thorne and new world industrialism, densely packed wooden buildings surround a section of ancient stone architecture at the lake’s edge. The city rises up against the horizon and is easily seen from a distance, lacking any farmland or outposts around it to distract the eye.

The city gates are wide open. Whatever may be happening back at the Thornean capitol, there’s no obvious hint of it here. Busy citizens are going about their day, guards in local uniform patrol the streets with little urgency, and no alarm bells or horns are sounding. It appears,at least on the surface, as though no one is concerned about escaped prisoners here.

But it certainly is a bustling place! Sounds and smells assault the senses right from the gate. The streets are filled with vendors and panhandlers and criers shouting out deals and directions and soliciting money, hawking food and services and shops. There seems to be a tavern or a public house on almost every corner. A cool wind comes off the lake and the scent of the fish market carries through the city. People are everywhere and no one seems to notice or care that much about strangers - aside from wanting their coin.

It’s the perfect place to hide out from Thorne while staying within Thorne’s borders.

Within a few hours of arrival a city guard will approach each escapee from Thorne - regardless of what their standing was back at the castle - to politely inform them that Lord of Representatives Lyle Vela would be happy to receive them at the House of the Lords at any time today. Each character will be given a handwritten invitation marked with an official seal that gives directions to the House of the Lords, a sprawling Old Nott building on the lake that overlooks the city. The invitation is of course optional and there are no repercussions for declining.

Comments

Meeting With Lyle

[abraxasnpcs]

[The House of the Lords is an impressive old stone building that once upon a time was the home of the Thornean royal family. Overlooking the lake on one side and the city on the other, it's easily the largest building in all of Nott.

Any who take Lyle Vela up on his offer to receive them will only need show their invitation to one of the guards at the main doors. A lesser employee will be summoned to lead the visitor (or visitors) to Lyle's office. It's a sparsely decorated room, the furnishings practical and well made but hardly impressive. A plain wooden desk with simple wooden chairs, a nicely made woven rug of various blue scraps of fabric that looks like many of the rugs one can find in any shop in the city, a few generic but well-painted landscape portraits hung on the stone walls. There are two filled bookshelves behind the desk. The most impressive thing about the office are the windows that overlook the Circinus. They're massive and thrown open to let in the pleasant lake air.

Lyle sits at work behind his desk with papers spread out in front of him. He's dressed in the same style as his office, practical and not flashy. The office smells like tobacco.]

[souille]

[ Abigail feels very out of place in her prison rags, with how respectable the office looks in contrast. She clutches the invitation tightly, afraid that she'll be kicked out if she lets it slip from her hand even for a moment and is unable to prove that she's allowed in, looking over Lyle warily as she tries and fails to assess him. ]

Sorry, I-- [ She stops herself, clears her throat, starts again with just a bit more confidence in her tone. ] You wanted to see me?

[ She can only hope he's not about to throw her back in prison. ]

[abraxasnpcs]

[Lyle's eyes widen just slightly and his mouth flinches into a severe line at the sight of Abigail.]

Good gracious...sit down, girl.

[Spoken as the Lord himself stands, striding to the door and snapping his fingers to get the attention of one of the guards outside.]

Send to the kitchen, would you? Have them bring up a plate of whatever they have lying around on hand. With haste.

[He returns to his desk and resumes his seat with a sigh, his attention now focused on the young woman who's accepted his invitation. He shakes his head and steeples his fingers with a sigh.]

Yes, thank you for coming. I'm well aware of what's been happening in the capitol, I visited there recently at the invitation of the mages. Illuminating experience, seeing first hand how the capitol's choosing to deal with things. Trotting out the 'good' ones, tossing the rest of you in their cells...Understand that we had nothing to do with that. The capitol no longer consults the House of Lords on matters of any importance.

[girl_at_the_window]

[Walking into this office is like a punch in the gut. It's not really anything like her father's little office in the back of the ranch - aside from anything else, he'd never have been able to afford that much paper, or such fine furniture. At the same time, it's just like his office, down to the smell of pipe smoke. It brings a lump to Susan's throat that she has to fight down.]

[She clears her throat, not to get his attention but to loosen that tight nostalgia that's threatening to choke her. She didn't come here to wax nostalgic about her da. She came because she's got enough sense to know that whatever's happening in such a town as this, it's happening here. She'd be a fool not to see what the man wants.]

Hile, sai. Ye sent for me?

[She half-raises the invitation in her hand, as if to prove it, and looks around the office, trying to take it in without giving in to that lingering homesickness.]

I like your, uh, paintings.

[abraxasnpcs]

I did. And thank you. Sit.

[Lyle gestures brusquely to the free chair at his desk.]

And be at ease, I know we're counted under the banner of Thorne but you're not in any trouble here. No one's going to toss you in jail or send you bound in a cart back to the royal family. I assume you're concerned about something like that.

[gardienne]

[Eponine goes. She can just about read the invite and the directions, but even within those few hours, she's starting to find her way around and has already clocked the office buildings by the lake.
Still dressed in her ripped and stained prison clothes, the smell of dirt and neglect lingers for a second or so after she passes through.

She's decidedly uncomfortable by the time she reaches the office, and she shifts from foot to dirty foot, curling her toes against the rough material of the rug as she stares about.]

If you are to arrest me, Sir, and send me back there, will you do it now? Me, I ain't seen freedom for months and it'll hurt the more to go back if you let me have it now.

[She speaks quickly, words tumbling over one another. Eponine knows that this man has every right to send her back. The other one did, the Duchess, and just as she had there, Eponine's pockets have already been lined by her quick fingers and light touch.]

But they'll beat me if you do, you know? For escaping, I mean. Look what they have done to my face, Sir. Will you send me to my death, Sir?

[It's risky, lying about the bruises on her face. They're from Julie really, but this man can't know that. He might let her stay if he feels sorry for her.]

[abraxasnpcs]

Good gracious, child, settle yourself! No one's arresting you. I'm not even the Lord of Justice for damn sake. We only arrest criminals here in Nott. We hardly consider you criminals.

[Lyle raises his eyebrows at the girl, his face stern as he watches her.]

Pull yourself together. Take a moment if it's needed.

[restoral]

[ Bucky clears his throat and sits down. He'd spoken to Lyle once before and the man had thanked Bucky for his honesty. It's a funny thing, because Bucky finds himself holding back a lot these days and not only since he came to Thorne, so he hadn't felt very honest, but sometimes it's a little hard to hide disdain.

Back then, he'd been dressed a lot nicer, but now he's taken care to blend in and keep his metal arm covered. His clothes aren't flashy and he's not even sure about what's appropriate here, but they're comfortable and free of dirt. ]

We meet again.

[ He's lost some of the tension he'd had in their first meeting at the banquet, though he's still got a stiffness that won't quite leave his spine. ]

I hope you're not going to ask me to go back to the castle.

[abraxasnpcs]

I very much doubt I'd be inviting you to my office if that were the case. Sit, we can have a conversation without fear of repercussion. I have do doubts that they were watching and listening the last time we spoke.

[Lyle gestures for Bucky to sit.]

Abigail Hobbs | Hannibal | The Hanged Man

[souille]

To say Abigail looks suspicious is an understatement. She clings to whatever dark corners she can find, glancing around furtively to ensure that none of the guards from Thorne have followed her here. At first she's still in her prison rags, which she tries to cover with a piece of linen she's swiped from a weaver's cart, ensuring that the picture of her Arcana on her back is covered, partly so she can pretend it's not there herself, as she's still a little disturbed whenever she has to look at it.

It's easy to slip into anonymity once she's managed to get hold of more suitable attire, which she's pilfered from a washing line, even though Abigail herself feels like she's standing out like a sore thumb both with how nervous she is and feeling like she's dressed for a ren faire. At first she simply wanders to get her bearings, glancing around for anyone she recognises from Thorne. Then, realising she'll need money if she wants to eat, she begins to hang around outside the many taverns and inns that Nott is home to, watching card and dice games until she's confident enough with the rules to have a go herself, hoping she'll be able to bluff her way through.

[girl_at_the_window]

It's the nervousness, more than anything, that catches Susan's eye, and it's only then that she recognises the woman from the cells. They haven't talked a great deal, but Susan's done her best to remember the faces of her fellow-prisoners (and continued to think of them as her fellows, even though she was released before some of them even got here), and she's got a good memory.

She's not heading anywhere in particular - mostly just out walking to clear her head, away from the people she gave up her love for - and so it's not out of her way to turn and head towards the dark-haired young woman. Susan herself is still in the clothes she was wearing at the execution, a loose shirt, jacket, and pants, her hair braided down her back. The only addition she's made is a serape fashioned out of a blanket, which is partly for the sake of keeping her warm, and mostly for the sake of giving a little more coverage to the lump of Roland's revolver tucked away inside her jacket.

She whistles through her teeth to draw the other woman's attention, sharp and piercing, and turning a couple of heads momentarily towards her. "Sai!"

[gardienne]

Once a thief, always a thief.
It hadn't taken Eponine long to wend her ways into the slums of the city, skulking through backstreets and alleys until she had found the beating heart of the place, the taverns and pubs. At first, all too aware of her prison garb, she'd stood in the shadows, watching, waiting. But clothes are easy to come by, and Eponine was soon garbed like a local. Her dress was deliberate - bare sleeves to invoke trust, folded material and layers to conceal her spoils - and no shawl so she might look genuinely cold to garner sympathy.

Now, she watches Abigail from her seat by the bar, next to some local who is too enthralled with her hand on his leg to complain about her drinking his gin as she approaches.
She catches Abigail's eye and at once draws a coin from one of the many hiding place in her skirts.

"Hey, will you have a bet for me as well?

Susan Delgado | Dark Tower | The Lovers

[girl_at_the_window]

When she was a child, when her father was alive, they'd go to Seafront for the horse fairs. This place reminds her so much of it that it's like a solid, physical ache in her chest, the most homesick she's been since she first arrived. Even the stink of fish is pleasantly familiar. Even the pickpockets - and it's not as though she has anything much to steal, anyway.

She came here to keep her word to Eponine, and so for the first day she sticks close to the group. Really, Eponine and Nadine are the only ones she actually knows, and around the others, she's quiet and watchful, trying to get the measure of her new clan. It might just be caution. It might also be a kind of grief, a doubt at letting Roland go again so soon after they found one another. She's keeping the gun he gave her well-hidden - nobody needs to know she's travelling armed, least of all these near-strangers, and while she cares a good deal for Nadine and Eponine she doesn't at all trust them to be circumspect - but she's also keeping it close, tucked into her jacket, almost a talisman.

Eventually, she starts to feel that the company is too much, and peels away to spend a solid day just exploring. She's good at looking like she belongs, and the lingering familiarity of the place helps - even when she's pretty lost, she walks with a degree of purpose, having learned a long time ago that looking too obviously lost is a dangerous thing for a pretty girl to do.

You can find her all around town, but in the end, she finds herself sitting at the lakeside, watching the wind ruffle the water, a slight frown creasing her forehead. She looks lost in thought, and not happily so. But she'll look up if she's approached, offering a small smile and shifting over to make space if you want to sit down.

She can't mope about for ever. By the afternoon of the second day, she's looking for work, approaching merchants and shopkeepers with a confidence she doesn't entirely feel. She's hard-working, but she's never actually had to look for a job before - work's found her, or she's been born to it. This is new, but she's determined.

"...And I'm stronger than I look, and I ain't afraid of hard graft. I ken animals, too, I'm real good with horses, and..."

Another door slamming in her face. She scowls, kicking the doorpost, and glares at anyone who happens to be passing. "What?"

Moping seems to have given way, then, to irritability.

Re: Susan Delgado | Dark Tower | The Lovers

[gardienne]

Eponine, on the other hand, has fitted into life in Nott easily. It's not so different to the Paris she's familiar with, with grand old buildings housing the places of law, the lake standing in for the Seine and the slums feeling scarily like home. Work comes easily too, especially when it's unlawful, and by the time Eponine meets Susan on the shores of the lake, the leather pouch she's swiped and hidden beneath her dress is jingling merrily and in both hands, she clutches pies, piping hot. One for her, one for Susan.

"They're eel, I think," she says by way of greeting. It feels nice to share. She never has been able to before. And it feels nicer still to think that she's got a piece of chocolate stuffed into the boots she's 'borrowed' too.
"Not so good as a sausage, but not bad neither. Better than a bun anyway."

She plops herself down, the silk dress mushrooming up about her as she does so.
"Tomorrow, I must find a new dress, you know? I don't want to ruin this one, and so it is so lovely, it stands out in the bad parts. I'll be mistaken for rich!"

looking for work

[restoral]

Bucky just shrugs his broad shoulders at her. He's been looking for work, too, and it doesn't escape him that she might be someone else who'd escaped from the castle, so he walks up to her despite the glaring to get a closer look.

"I think most of the work here is fish-related. Did I see you on my way here?"

He's trying to be sly in the way he's asking her if they came from the same place, but he's not sure how well it will land. He's already changed his clothes and taken precautions to hide his arm, but he's still pretty sure he's sticking out in ways he isn't aware of and maybe a few that he is.

Nadine Cross | The Stand | The World

[nadine_he_loves]

It may be a far poorer and less comfortable place than the castle, there may not be whatever she wants to eat on hand, but Nadine feels better here in the slums of Nott than she has since coming to this world.

She doesn't often leave the cheap inn room she shares with Flagg for the first day or two. Enough money was pocketed on the way out to cover rent for a few nights to start with, and it doesn't seem like it'd be hard to get more. She does spend some time around the inn, though, in the common room with a mug of watery ale, just trying to listen and get a better feel for this city.

But eventually she emerges from the inn, dressed in a simple local outfit, to explore this new place that's going to be home for the foreseeable future. She seems in a much better mood than she has been in all her months in Thorne, her expression less guarded and nervous. There's a blue kerchief tied over her hair to hide her horns. She ventures to the docks first to wander the fish market, the smell of it reminding her of home. Her first home, the place she'd spent almost forty years of her life, New Hampshire. There were so many little towns that smelled just like this. Even the way the vendors shouted reminds her of the crab men who'd yell from doorways and the sidewalk. Once or twice she's even tempted into spending a little of the pocket money she had - a little waxed paper pocket of some sort of fried freshwater shrimp sort of thing with a sauce the smells like nothing else she knows, a dozen salted little lake crabs in a pouch made of old fishing net.

Eventually she makes her way to the lakeside, to sit on a rock and watch the water and eat her other-worldly street food. It doesn't feel like they're in any immediate danger and it's nice to just be without worrying about who's watching, who's listening, how anything she said or did might be taken...that part's over, she and her people are free - to an extent - and Flagg is no longer a captive or bound by whatever magical chains Thorne had put on him. Nadine feels like she can breathe, she can relax.

And maybe even enjoy herself for a change.

[gardienne]

"Nadine?"
Her peace and quiet is shattered by Eponine plopping down on the grass just yards away from her by the lake. Eponine smiles. "I haven't seen you so much since we came, you know? But it's good here, isn't it?"

Indeed, Eponine's probably looking better than Nadine's ever seen her. Not healthy: her build is still alarmingly skeletal and she's still not properly clean. But there's a spark of life in those oddly green eyes that definitely wasn't there in Thorne's dungeons.

"Look -" she pulls aside her apron and shows Nadine a purse bulging with coins tied about her impossibly thin waist. She glances up at Nadine, eager for approval.
"I have enough for food or sweets or that if you will join me? Don't tell Susan though. I said I'd share everything with her... but I'd rather share with you."

[souille]

Abigail's also at the lake, needing to clear her head from the throng of people and the smell of the slums, which had been the easiest place for her to remain more or less anonymous. Sitting at the shore, staring at the rippling of the water and nibbling on some bread she'd managed to swipe from a trader's cart, it occurs to her that this is the first time since finding herself in this world that she's actually had a moment to decompress, between prison, her close escape, and trying to survive on the streets of Nott. It's only now, with the time and space to step back from it, that she can truly appreciate how bizarre the situation is.

Her response is to laugh, loud and sharp, at the surreality of it all, that she may as well be dreaming. The noise echoes over the water, but Abigail doesn't care if anyone hears, even the lady sat nearby trying to enjoy her own lunch. It's only when her laughter turns to sobs - and she's not sure when exactly that is - that she becomes self-conscious, hating for anyone to see her cry.

the inn

[girl_at_the_window]

Susan has been heeding Roland's advice, steering clear of Flagg where she can do so without making it obvious - which has meant, of course, steering clear of Nadine, too, since the two are inseparable. So she's glad, coming in from one of her exploratory walks, to find Nadine alone in the common room, with Flagg nowhere in evidence.

She orders herself a cup of watered-down beer, as well - she's not yet found a real job, but this afternoon she managed to pick up a couple of errands on the docks, enough to get together a handful of coins and more than enough to justify a drink, though if she's honest she'd prefer coffee - and crosses over to Nadine's table, clearing her throat softly.

"Mind if I join 'ee?" Without waiting for an answer, she sits, settling her flagon on the table in front of her.

the docks

[hardcase]

"If you wanted something, I could get it for you," he says, suddenly leaning up against a wall a few feet behind her, "No use in spending your money here."

He means that he could simply walk up to any of these vendors, look them in the eye, and take what he pleases without any pushback now that he has his powers again. Even if they don't know exactly what he is, they know some salted crab isn't worth fighting The Dark Man over.

Julie Lawry | The Stand | The Wheel of Fortune

[princessvegas]

[ It had taken nearly a week on horseback for the group to reach Nott. By virtue of being the only one with experience riding a horse when they decided to take them, Julie had sort of assumed a leadership role in this expedition. After tasking Nadine and Lloyd (as well as Susan and Eponine, courtesy of Nadine) with stealing as much gold off the frozen Thorneans as they could, Julie had sprinted to the stables and came back with three horses.

Honestly, it had been quite a while since she was on a horse. Several years, at least. But she'd had an uncle with a ramshackle little farm, and she used to spend time there while her parents worked, so she'd learned to ride before she could drive. When she brought back the horses, she told everyone their names as marked on their stalls, with a kind of respect that she doesn't have for most humans -- she put Lloyd and Nadine on a cream mare named Pearl, Susan and Eponine on a chestnut colt named Spider, and for herself, a big black stallion called Baron. She and Susan, with varying levels of frustration, coached Lloyd through riding a horse.

And so they set off in search of Nott.

For several days, they rode from dawn to dusk and slept on the forest floor, at night. Courtesy of Flagg, the former prisoners had their uniforms transformed into acceptable clothes, so that when they stumbled on the occasional village, they were able to barter for food without being pegged as escapees.

When they finally reached Nott, they found a tavern fairly quickly, mostly out of desperation, and paid for three rooms. Flagg and Nadine to one, Susan and Eponine to another, and Julie and Lloyd in the third. They would still need to find ways to make money, but now they had beds and baths and warm meals twice a day. ]

01 | The First Night [closed to LLoyd]

[ They arrived in the late afternoon and spread out to their separate rooms, eager to get away from each other. Julie had snagged a bottle of wine off a table in the tavern downstairs, then commandeered the bathroom and soaked for hours in the tub, scrubbing herself free of the grime of imprisonment and travel. When she emerges, naked and hair damp, she stands in front of the mirror in the firelight, closely examining the half-inch or so of root that's now showing; as it turns out, her natural color is a gingery red that she has to bleach out to go pink. She makes a face and mutters to herself. ]

I gotta get somethin' done with this.

[ But there's nothing she can really do about it right now, so she tousles her hair and grabs the wine before climbing into bed, swigging off the bottle. She stares at the wall for a moment, like she would if there was a television there, then looks over at Lloyd, offering him the bottle. ]

Hey. I want you to teach me how to go to the Horizon.


02 | Coast

[ Julie has never in her life seen the ocean before arriving in Nott. The closest she'd ever gotten was the Pratt County Lake, a tiny, pathetic thing barely deep enough to swim in. So it's with a quiet sense of awe that she sits and watches the waves roll in and out, absently eating some bread she took from the tavern. It's shocking, how vast it is, and how loud, but it's beautiful and fascinating.

She eventually walks down the beach itself, holding her shoes in one hand and holding up her skirt with the other. Seagulls fly out of her way as she strolls in the surf, breeze blows her hair around, and she stops to pick up a shell every now and then. ]


03 | Horizon

[ The first time Julie returns to the Horizon is like walking back into home after a long vacation. Her domain is a gorgeous nightclub, with a huge staffed bar and a light up dance floor. The music is a perfect volume, loud enough to party but not so loud that you can't sit and have a conversation in a booth. Fancy drinks flow freely, colored lights flash in patterns, and people she's never seen before crowd the dance floor.

But when you turn away from the bar and the lights, the room gradually fades to darkness and emptiness, like an abandoned warehouse in a horror movie. Go far enough into the blackness, and there's the sound of creaking metal and industrial fan blades slowly turning. It's haunting, really.

The side you choose to visit really says more about you than Julie. But she'll meet you either way. ]


04 | Wildcard

[ Anything you want, or contact me at sarahwand or bitchcraft#2753 to plot. ]

coast

[restoral]

[ Bucky is no fisherman, but he's trying to get work in a place where that's definitely the most plentiful work, so he's spent a lot of the day watching people and trying to figure out how he can offer his strength without worrying about the complete lack of skill.

After a full afternoon of unloading boats, he lets himself wander onto the beach with his seemingly-too-big-dinner so he can watch the water and try to plan his next move. He hasn't recognized too many people around Nott yet, but he does pay attention and it's hard to miss pink hair. ]

Hey!

[ He waves a sort of local bread roll at her. ]

You hungry?

[ It's hard to imagine that everyone who fled the castle will be able to unload fishing boats so easily and he's not above sharing what he's got with the others who've fled. ]

01 | first night

[jealousbitch]

[ If he ever has to ride another horse again, he might drown himself instead so he doesn't have to deal with it. Staying on a horse was intimidating enough, but making sure Nadine didn't fall off, too? He's pretty sure he stayed tense the entire time. Sleeping on the ground hadn't helped much either.

The one thing he hadn't been expecting was the all-over aching that would come from days on end spent on the back of a horse. His whole ass feels like one giant bruise, and his back feels like it's on fire. While Julie's first order of business had been to immediately hog the bathroom, Lloyd's had simply been to collapse on the bed. Grime status be damned, he's fucking tired and is looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed for the first time in almost a week.

When she finally emerges from the bathroom, he's at least shifted to one side of the bed instead of taking up the entire middle. Propping himself up on his elbow, he watches her with appreciation- damn, she's got a fine body- as she examines herself in the mirror and moves over to the bed. ]

Don't look as bad as you think it does.

[ Even without her ability to primp as she normally does, she's still miles above all the other boring women he's seen around. He does love her vibrant, pink hair, though.

He takes the bottle with a grateful hum of thanks, taking a long and well-deserved swig. He keeps a loose hold on the neck of the bottle, but it's within easy reach for her. ]

Yeah, I can do that. Just uh. Don't think too much coming back about maaaaybe not remembering shit?

Coast

[gardienne]

[There's something about the sea. So often it's drawn lonely souls to it, and even here, there's no exception. Eponine's drawn, like a moth to a flame, to the undulating waves and the salty, rocky beach. She's too scared to edge close to the water: it reminds her of that night in the Seine, and though she knows that her life is better now, she's still worried about what she'd do.

She spends her time further up, letting her feet sink into the sand, letting it squeeze through her fingers and cling to the rough fabric of the dress she had stolen from the town. When she sees Julie, though, she stops dead in her tracks. Considering they escaped together, Eponine's done well to avoid being alone with her. But here they both are.
Eponine purses her lips. The bruises on her face have mostly healed now, but her nose is still crooked, and the terror of being left again in the solitary cell still visits her nightmares. And it's all Julie's fault. She can't help herself.]

Such an ugly dress on such an ugly woman. You suit it, Miss Julie, truly you do.

coast

[hardcase]

[ Flagg stands - or rather, hovers a few inches off the ground - at the water's edge. Further down the coast, small waves crash against the shore. Around him they try to rise and then, weak and unstable, they waver and die before they reach the shore.

Flagg's using his telepathy to hold them back. Waves aren't alive but they're still moving, organic things and it's fun to crush them. ]

You've done well, for your first time in a world so unlike your own. [ He doesn't turn to face her, but she's the only one he could be addressing. ] My own world was closer to this one than to yours, but it was already dying when I was born.