( 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

[buff_for_a_nerd]

Yeah, well...

[ Sam can't really argue with that assessment, though he wouldn't call himself noble. He was just curious, and suspicious, and he has a reasonable amount of faith in his ability to get out of tricky situations. If it's a choice between self-preservation and helping someone he's going to go with the latter, and that can definitely lead to some reckless behavior.

He's still catching up to the idea that he's standing in an alley with Kathashun himself, but he can already see what the man means about headaches. That weird sense of pressure reminds him of the sensation that preceded his visions years ago, and those always hit him hard. So he shakes his head at the apology. ]

No, I understand.

[ He's aware that he has a rather unique opportunity here to talk to the King himself without a bunch of guards staring him down, but not for long. ]

I overheard some of what you were saying, asking people about the state of things down here and that's great but... why come here yourself?

[kathashun]

[ there's a slight pursing of his lips, at the question, and kathashun glances back down the alleyway, almost checking to see if the spell is still holding. a certain level of anxiety is now present, in the young king, but he seems willing to entertain the questions. ]

My father was a tyrant, who executed people regardless of what they were charged with. He was not a good man, or king. And the people remember that, especially the poor. His death has no mourning, in this portion of the city. I cannot blame them.

[ he pauses. ]

So I come here, to ask what they need, to know the truth. They will not speak to me, otherwise.

[buff_for_a_nerd]

[ Sam's lips press into a thin line and he nods. He won't pretend to understand what it must feel like to know that a parent is an objectively terrible person, because as much as he fought with his own dad, he never thought that the man was evil. Just misguided and fallible, and his perspective is far more sympathetic than it once was now that he better understands why John made some of the choices he did. ]

Is there anyone you would trust to help you with this?

[ Maybe he's projecting, but Kathashun seems pretty isolated. Probably lonely too.

He shakes his head at himself. This isn't really the time or place for personal questions like that, assuming the King wanted to talk about it at all. There's so much he wants to understand about this intriguing man, and apparently he's the only one who can offer any insight. ]

This magic... Is it a 'blessings of the phoenix' thing?

[kathashun]

I have my close confidants.

[ with a slight laugh, and a wave of his hand, at sam's first question. he doesn't seem to be lying; he does seem to have some people he trusts, in this city.

but at the second question, kathashun's eyebrows arch slightly, amused. ]

You've read my family's history.

[ he pauses. ]

I'm sorry that it's so boring.

[buff_for_a_nerd]

[ Sam's got a fairly good intuition when it comes to sensing if someone's telling the truth or not, and so far this seems like honesty. So he'll take it at face value, if with a grain of salt.

He almost expected the man to be annoyed at all the interest in himself and his family's legacy, but the humor and blunt remarks are the exact opposite, and Sam can't quite resist a chuckle of his own in response. He couldn't have known what to expect from Kathashun outside of his official duties as King, but he wouldn't have anticipated him to be this personable. It could be an act, granted a very good act, but it's hard not to like him.

It does occur to him that he didn't exactly get a real answer to his question, but it's not like he's going to hold a knife to his throat to try to get one out of him. ]

I didn't think it was boring. A little hard to understand in places when I don't know much about how magic works here, but the culture of this place is actually pretty fascinating.

[ The pressure in his ears is a constant reminder of the fact that they can't stay here too long, though he'll suffer through a headache if he has to. He's done it before. And he doesn't know when, or even if he'll have a chance to talk to Kathashun again. His expression sobers as he considers the whole reason they're having to be this careful just to have a talk in an apparently empty alley. ]

Do they really want to kill you just because they think you're going to be like your father?

[kathashun]

I think people want to kill me because I am me.

[ it's a blithe response, but a rather honest one, with a slight shrug of his shoulders. he appreciates sam's candor, though, and his appreciation of his history -- or, at least, kathashun seems inclined to speak to him a bit more, as a result. ]

But his behavior toward these people, and this city, certainly doesn't garner much trust. It's an uphill battle, and the Syndicate doesn't help.