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

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!"

[souille]

Abigail flinches when she hears the sharp whistle pierce through the air. She fervently hopes it's intended to get someone else's attention, but glances back just in case, her heart sinking a little as she recognises Susan. She trusted the others who'd been brought here and were released from prison as little as her captors themselves.

"Me?" she asks, quietly hoping she's mistaken her for someone else.

[girl_at_the_window]

"Aye, you." Susan lengthens her stride, approaching with a smile that's intended to soothe. Gods, the woman's skittish as a filly. "I know 'ee, don't I? We had some sort of a palaver, back..."

She gestures vaguely northwards. It seems good enough for now.

"It's good to see 'ee the right side of the bars."

[souille]

She presses her hands together as Susan gets closer. She remembered her being kind to her in prison, but she'd been on the other side of the bars. Abigail had assumed that had meant she was in Thorne's good books, but now she's not so sure.

"You're not going to take me back, right?"

[girl_at_the_window]

The smile falls from Susan's face immediately, replaced by a look of genuine hurt and surprise - and not a little anger.

"Of course I ain't!" she snaps, stopping dead in her tracks, and folds her arms over her chest, her nose wrinkling in distaste. "What do'ee take me for? Or do I look like a bounty hunter, all of a sudden?"

[souille]

Abigail flinches at her reaction, her face falling as she realises she's deeply offended her with the question.

"Sorry," she manages, the word sounding rather limp. "I didn't mean-- It's just that they didn't lock you up." Or so she assumes, and further infers that this must mean she'd been collaborating with their captors.

[girl_at_the_window]

Susan's eyes fix on her for a moment more before she sighs, and softens a little. "They did," she corrects, still noticeably testy, but much less so. "They locked me up just like the rest of 'ee, when I got here. It's just sai Nadine got me out." Which, she's aware as she says it, doesn't make her sound any less like a collaborator - but that's just going to have to be how it is.

[souille]

The explanation itself doesn't matter to her now; as soon as she'd seen how incensed Susan had become at the idea that she'd assist in getting Abigail thrown back in jail had shown her they were on the same side. Whatever side that was - Abigail still felt she didn't have the first clue about this place.

"I'm glad you made it out of there, anyway."

[girl_at_the_window]

"Aye. And the same to 'ee." Susan's hackles seem, almost visibly, to settle. She hesitates a moment, then pulls a face. "How about we start over? We can meet the first time here, if it ain't comfortable for 'ee thinkin' of where we came from." Clearing her throat, she sticks out her hand to shake. "Susan Delgado. Nice to meet 'ee."

[souille]

She takes Susan's hand, shaking firmly and offering a tight, polite smile.

"Likewise. I'm Abigail."

[girl_at_the_window]

"Abigail." It's a pretty enough name, and easy enough to remember. She nods, mentally tucking the name away, and offers a little smile in return as she lets her hand drop back to her side. "Cry pardon if I scared 'ee, calling out like that. Just seems to me we ought to stick together, if we're all strangers here."

[souille]

"It's all right. It's my fault for being so suspicious of everything." Although she can't really blame herself too much there, still expecting to be carted back off to jail or worse.

[girl_at_the_window]

"Aye. And I should've thought of it, before I came down on 'ee that way." Susan shakes her head, shrugging one shoulder as if to say Let's let that be an end to it. "But I ain't thinkin' all too clear, lately. It's been a rough few days for all of us, I guess." Then, reconsidering: "A rough couple months, at least."

[souille]

"Hasn't it just," she replies dryly. And not just since she was brought to Thorne - the months leading up to her arrival in this world were relentless, and she just wants life to give her a break. "I don't think it's going to get any easier, though."

[girl_at_the_window]

Susan's smile is wry and not a little bitter. "When does it ever?" she mutters, and wrinkles up her nose, pulling a face. "Guess that means I got no excuse." Then, looking up and down the street: "I got a few coins. I was going to find summat to eat, if you want to come with."

[souille]

Abigail hadn't realised she was hungry until Susan mentioned food, but now her stomach growls in response. "That's not a bad idea, if you're sure you don't mind."

[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?

[souille]

Abigail's accrued a modest pile of coins, although she's fairly sure she's only moderately good at the game. A combination of being a quick learner, the poker face she's crafted to survive back in her own world, and the mostly middle-aged men underestimating her ability have worked in her favour. Still, she feels a little nervous as she takes Eponine's coin as her wager - the stakes are higher betting with someone else's money.

She needn't have worried. The disappointment in her opponent's face as she turns her cards over, before he's even revealed his hand, tells her everything she needs to know and she rakes another four coins into her pile. The man demands another round, but Abigail feels she ought to quit while she's ahead, gathering her winnings and giving Eponine her share.

"I'm hoping it's not just beginner's luck."

[gardienne]

"That's as maybe, but at least you stop now."
She accepts her winnings with a smile, hiding the coins in the folds of her skirt.
"Me, I prefer my fingers - see."

She looks around quickly, and after only a quick glance at her mark, she leans back in her chair. She reaches, subtle and swift, and relieves a bulging pocket of it's purse within seconds. She slips the coin bag into her skirts too, before grinning at Abigail.

"I suppose it is as much chance as yours, but I feel safer, you know?"

[souille]

Abigail's eyes look like they're about to pop when she sees the purse swiftly and silently parted from its former owner. She'd thought herself sly, having managed to sneak out of the facility and into Hannibal's house on more than one occasion, but she wouldn't trust herself to pull off something so spontaneous and intimate, and she's thoroughly impressed.

"You'll have to teach me how to do that."

[gardienne]

It's not often anyone finds Eponine remotely impressive. Her grin lights up her dull eyes.

"You ain't funning me, are you? You truly think it is good enough to learn?"

She claps her hands in sheer pleasure. "Well, I can teach, but on a real target, no, for if you are caught at home, you will go to Les Madelonnettes or the other, and I swear, you will wish you hadn't. It is worse than the castle at Thorne, honest. Perhaps you will practice on me, or Nadine or Susan until you are good?"

[souille]

"Absolutely." She smiles encouragingly, pleased to see her light up like that. "It sounds like an essential skill to survive here, and that's something I'm determined to do."

[gardienne]

"And you don't want to try for honest work?" Eponine raises an eyebrow. Abigail's the first person, beside herself, to admit that she'd rather hustle and steal than work honestly. Though, Eponine's reliance on theft is her knowledge that she's good at it. She doesn't want to try looking for a legitimate job because she's convinced that she'll be rejected straight away.

"Susan is looking for true work, but me, no. There is a fortune to be had here if you look to the underworld. It is bad, and me, I dislike it. I wish I could be good, but me, I am rotten. It is too late for me, you see? So it don't matter no more."

She shrugs. "And, 'sides. They have locked me up for naught. I may as well do the crime for the punishments I have served, no?"

[souille]

She'd briefly considered getting a proper job when she first arrived in Nott, but had discounted the idea pretty quickly, and shakes her head at the prospect now.

"No. It feels too permanent, you know? We escape from prison, just get a job and settle down and pretend we belong here? It doesn't feel right. I'm not planning to become a part of this society, but I'll take what I need from it to get by."