( NPC LOG ) WORLD JUMP # 1: EL MINHA.

[kathashun]

𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚞𝚗
𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛
𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚓𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚝
𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚡
𝚠𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚕𝚍
𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚕 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚑𝚊.

[ kathashun, throughout the duration of your stay in el minha, can be found in a plethora of locations in the city. whether he approaches you is a luck of the odds, apparently . . . but if you approach him, he certainly won't turn you away.

additionally, it may also be hard to spot him, because while he is very easy to place near the palace, in his deep purple robes and constant crown guard presence, he is not so easy to place elsewhere . . . mostly because, for the sake of some amount of privacy, he ditches the royal colors and instead wanders around in a loose outfit with a white linen hooded cloak, much like the rest of his people, to blend in.

some opportunities to see him, though (and some information to gather, should you ask the guard), are as follows: ]

( A ) The Palace:

[ king kathashun does not allow people inside the royal palace. should you ask the crown guard why, they will explain (in terse terms, as the king has instructed the guard to answer questions reasonably) that the late king was murdered, and security is on high alert. no one is allowed inside the palace without express written permission from king kathashun himself, and if you don't have that? piss off.

however, king kathashun can be found on the grounds (with constant guard presence). conversations here will likely be short, as the guard is protective and unwilling to allow you too close to the king. after a few minutes or so, they will likely tell you to fuck off. but you're welcome to try! ]

( B ) The Fight Ring:

[ should you wander to the fight ring, you can find kathashun dressed in (still nice, but not super nice) linens with a cloak, watching the fighting and sparring below. he seems to be scanning the crowd with his eyes, and should you approach him, he will happily speak with you. but he may also approach you first, with a knowing smile, and a finger to his lips, should you recognize him. his hood is still up, but quietly: ]

Are you here to challenge the Champion?

[ judging from the look in his eyes, kathashun seems 100% prepared to encourage your entrance into the contest, but who knows? you might be misreading him. ]

(C) The Casino/Syndicate Territory:

[ the one place you will not find kathashun is the casino, due to the rampant syndicate presence here, and the current war between the two.

that being said, you may find a man wandering through the streets in syndicate territory asking people of their needs. he is dressed in dark clothing, atypical for the desert heat, but doesn't seem to be bothered by the sun. instead, he is asking the citizens questions.

do they have enough food? what do you want the crown to provide more of? are you safe here?

and should you approach this man, he appears to be in his late-forties, but he won't be interested in speaking with you. ]

Later, later, enough --

[ absent dismissals when you approach him, and he brushes past you, heading down a nearby alley.

do you want to follow him? ]

Comments

[kathashun]

"The Guard has been on edge, since the death of the late King. I'm afraid sneaking past them is something only I am capable of."

But Kathashun raises a hand, waving a few fingers, almost dismissing Shiro's suggestion.

"No, seek your friend. This is a new city, for you all. You should stick together, in these times. Particularly if you plan to enter the ring."

[bowtiedbones]

[gives him a limp-wristed half-wave, b y e]

Locality is a free pass for talking down to people, right, got it. Thanks for the tip.

[spaceforged]

Shiro nods and steps back. He does intend to walk into the Ring. That's exactly why he needs to find Keith first. He can easily see how fast he'd flip if he saw him fighting before he knew why.

"Alright." He nods and gives a small wave of his own. "I hope you run into yours today too." He adds, as he turns and departs scanning the crowds for the familiar lines of one Keith, former Paladin of Voltron.

[theminotaur]

Like witches. [ abigail hobbs, same name as a girl accused during the hysteria in salem town. she's googled her own name, who hasn't? ]

Magic is just in fairy tales in Bloomington, it's not real.

[ there's something of a learning curve, but at least abigail's own ability seems to come easier the more she uses it. apropos of seemingly nothing, abigail crouches down to pluck up a piece of hay from the ground, gesturing toward the king's hand. ]

May I?

[rootandbranch]

I see... that's how you look at it. Thank you.

[he mulls that over for a moment.]

So Thaamira must have wished for everyone in the city to live, and thrive.

[reeliable]

[A skill set not welcome to the Ring - it's not really hard for Noct to make an assumption of magic, considering it's against the rules. He doesn't say as much though, letting his attention come back to watching Kathashun. He gets it, why he would slip out to just mingle with people - he was never much of a stuffy Royal party guy himself, and being around normal people was just always better.

It's why he chose a public school in the first place, to get out of the Citadel when he could.

Ending up with this hint of a smile, giving a slight nudge with his arm, Noct leans back into the wall where he stands and gets himself ready to be here a while - maybe.]

Well, I'd like to say you're in good company - my name's Noct.

[rootbound]

But it doesn't hurt to make the effort in good faith, does it? Or you wouldn't be asking the people what they needed in the first place.

[purrtagonist]

[that--]

[gets an (understandable) flash of surprise on his features, a moment where Akira is thrown off guard, because of all the things he was expecting when he followed the strange man down the alleyway, this was not one of them]

[he pauses, then holds up both of his hands, palms facing forward, to indicate that he isn't here to cause trouble, either]

I guess to anyone else, it wouldn't be.

[but. . .]

But there are kids in the Grand Market I've been keeping an eye on. I thought if you were going around asking people if they needed assistance, you might know about them.

[sunborne]

He fights? I didn't know that! [ that definitely grabs daylight's attention, if the sudden perking up from his voice to his winglets are anything to go by.

he's always eager to spar with new opponents and he can't help but look eager now, rocking back on the balls of his feet in an attempt to keep his excitement in check. ]</small Do you know how I can get him to agree to a sparring match? Or if he'll be willing to spar at all? He made it clear he was... busy with stuff... when we were talking.