open: free cities

[ancunin]

Who: Astarion & anyone
When: Arrival, beginning of October
Where: Free Cities: Cadens and Libertas
What: Settling in, exploring options, meeting new people
Warnings: OPT-OUT. Potential spoilers for Baldur's Gate III up to the beginning of Act 3, let me know if you prefer to avoid spoilers! CONTENT WARNINGS: General vampire stuff with biting and blood drinking, brain parasites, past physical and sexual abuse - anything more than vague reference will have the warning in the comment's subject line.




x.

( starters in comments below )

Comments

LIBERTAS ☼ open

[ancunin]

[ Only a few minutes after stepping through the portal, it's clear enough to Astarion why a city like Libertas would've made itself a target of burning.

The sheer concentration of would-be philosophers and poets would tempt anyone capable of casting a fireball or two.

Still, Astarion finds himself quite easily drifting through the crowd as he takes in the (free) sights, his hood up to cover his ears and other... more noticeable attributes. In the most dense spaces he even manages to pluck a coin purse from an all-too-tempting mark in the form of a young man who, despite donning a plain cloak, forgot to remove all the rings from his fingers. Likely some rebellious son of a wealthy merchant dabbling in social justice. Not that it matters to him.

At the memorial park in the center of the city he wanders for a little while, eyeing the cacti on display and resisting intrusive thoughts telling him to pluck out a few spines.

Although so much of the art is on the... experimental side, he does manage to come across a plain young woman offering to paint little watercolor sketches. For a few of his stolen coins he sits, basking in the sunlight as she sets to quick and efficient work. ]

Well, what do you think? [ he breezily asks anyone he catches watching them. The painter frowns slightly at having her work judged right in front of her. His hood is down now, his elvish features on display. He notices some people have been eyeing him nervously, whispering about the fey.

Well, they're not entirely wrong. ]

CADENS ☼ open

[ancunin]

[ Astarion is slowly becoming a fixture at The Sarstina. As loathe as he is to do any of the manual labor Magmara requests of her non-paying tenants, he's managed to talk his way behind the bar - either because she can tell he doesn't have the stamina for physical work as most and feels a bit sorry for him in her way, or because she can at least keep an eye on him there.

The rat diet isn't exactly doing wonders for him, so she's not far off with either assumption. ]

What can I get for you, darling? [ he asks in a smooth tone, punctuated with an alluring grin. Here, he's gotten comfortable keeping his hood down. Most of the Summoned tend toward human in appearance, but he has less concern about standing out amongst them. They're all so very eager to be helpful.

Other times, he can be found at a table in the back reading all sorts of 'borrowed' texts, the topics ranging from history to New Magic theory, medical textbooks to local law and code. You might notice a particular abundance of the last type of books and pamphlets. There is not a single work of fiction to be found.

You might also notice that he never seems to order more than a glass of water for himself. ]