The Thousand Isles - Consulting the Oracles
"When Whisperleaf said he needed to consult the Oracles I wasn't expecting the Oracles to be a fish" remarked Ricmo
"Dolphins aren't fish" said Whisperleaf absentmindedly, pausing the clicks and whistles he'd been using to communicate with the dolphins. "They're warmblooded for one thing, give live birth..."
"Look like fish to me" said Ricmo cheerily. "Why are we whistling at them again?"
"Why not call upon our friends of the sea? Their wisdom is as vast as the oceans, ours is but a mere bathtub." said Whisperleaf, throwing the closest dolphin a fish.
Dakhir looked around the dingy fishing docks wondering what the fishermen were making of Whisperleaf’s performance. "What do they tell you?" he asked.
"Much" said Whisperleaf. "This pod has never been to the Garden Isles, but they offer to spread the word we are looking for Black Alice's lost island retreat to others of their kind and to the whales. They also confirm that our friend the Great Squid is still with us. 'A great beast from the deep ocean is in these waters, all of us swim away in fear of it' . It is close. It is searching for something. For us."
"That squid really holds a grudge" said Ricmo.
"Well we did shoot all it's arms off" replied Dakhir. "with cannons. And stole it's prey."
"Friends, we must away" interrupted Jean Pierre impatiently. "New Towne be a ways away and Mambo Grace be expectin us. Not good to be rude to such a powerful mambo."
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This part of Newtown Beyond-The-Wall was poor and run down, but then again all of Newtown Beyond-the-Wall was poor and run down. The whole region had a very "not really supposed to be here" vibe to it, built as it was on the wrong side of the great protective city wall that officially demarked the boundary of Haven Towne. The great walls and towers, facing outward very clearly signaled "you are expendable" to the metropolis that had sprung up beyond the gates.
Most of the houses were small one story single room affairs, daub and wattle, or wood with palm thatched or occasionally red clay tiled roofs. Despite the evident poverty the houses were gaily painted in vibrant pastels of pink, yellows and blues. The streets were narrow, winding, unpaved and gutterless, but crowded noisy, and vibrant nevertheless. Exotic smells hung in the air, spices, pork, chickens and unidentified fragrances. Palm trees and bamboo groves abounded.
As the party made their way through the crowded streets, several times they caught the attention of young toughs, likely members of local street gangs, but each time once Jean Pierre made his presence known, the gang members backed down
"Wouldn't want to be here without Jean Pierre" Ricmo whispered to Marus. "Pretty sure he's the only reason we didn't get hit at least twice."
"Nine times actually" said Marus. "Maybe ten if you count the snipers on the roof a half mile back"
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Mambo Grace’s house was two stories, larger than most, but other then that not very distinctive and still poverty stricken, built up against the exterior of the massive Madrigal's Wall. .
"Now remember, the Mambo is powerful, respected and proud." cautioned Jean Pierre. "This is New Towne now. No law out here, no watch, no soldiers, nothing but the law of the gang and the neighborhood. She can be a powerful ally, but if you offend her, likely none of us get back alive."
Jean Pierre walked up to the door, and knocked. After a moment it opened and tall, bald women, dark and strong, dressed in a bright blue skirt opened it. "Jean Pierre!" she exclaimed in a surprisingly deep voice. "Bon apre-midi! Sak pase?"
"I am well, Sa fè lontan! These are my friends, I tol you bout. From over the sea, wantin to hear about Gang Gang Alice from the old times."
Mambo Grace turned and sized the party up and down. Then her face broke into a big smile
“Anchante!" she said. “Please, come inside my home, we have much to talk about."
The second floor of the house was given over to magical pursuits. One corner was dominated by an altar covered in dozens of large, ornately decorated cylindrical candles, interspersed with skulls, bones, icons and small figurines.
The other corner looked more like an alchemical workshop with a large iron stove, mortar and pestle, a cauldron and various mixing apparatus. The cauldron was simmering and bubbling. All the walls were covered with shelves of jars of herbs, oils, potions, salves, and other ingredients and concoctions.
The floor had been cleaned recently but it was impossible to completely hide the signs of chalk marks and what were probably blood stains
Despite the relatively grim nature of the subject matter, the windows were thrown wide open and the room was filled with air and light. A pleasant smell permeated it, probably from multiple sticks of incense burning in various nooks and on the altar.
"Jean Pierre says you want to know of Black Alice, she that we call Gang Gang Alice. She was a mighty mambo in the time of me great great Grand-mère. We still tell stori and sing song ah' her. I know many story a song if you wanna hear 'em, but I don't sing fer free mindya"
Ricmo was amused to learn that while the languages here were totally different the hand signals of the Thieves Cant were quite legible to him. He clearly saw Mambo Grace signal to Jean Pierre "Do the marks have money? and Jean Pierre replied "loaded, but will spot a con.". He laughed inside while innocently ignoring the hand motions.
"Stories are well and good, mother, but we were hoping to find someone who still practiced her arts" said Dakhir respectfully.
"Ahh, no, there are those who claim such, but none that live truly know her secrets."
Dakhir looked disappointed.
"Of course Mambo Claire, my great great Grand-mère, she know Black Alice well. She maybe tell you what you needa know."
"But surely she is long dead?" remarked Whisperleaf. "That was over two hundred years ago, only the elves live that long? Or can your grandmother extend her life somehow?"
"Ahh yea, she dead sure, don't mean we can't talk to her" replied Mambo Grace reasonably. "She powerful in the spirit world, talk plenty you ask her nice and give her her favorite rum and tobak. Let me go ask her if she want to talk to you."
Mambo Grace walked over to the altar with the candles and stared into the flames humming for a moment.
The candles flared and a cold breeze suddenly blew through the room, whipping the drapes around crazily.
"Aye she talk to yee. She like your friend in the red suit, says he a pretty man. We gotta do a ceremony though. Gotta gather the congregation, get some rum and toback and chickens. Gonna cost ya."
"How much said Dakhir.
Mambo Grace signalled "Fifty?" to Jean Pierre who replied "sure". Ricmo signalled back "sounds good" and laughed as they both jumped a bit in surprise.
"Five hundred?" said Mambo Grace a bit subdued. “Have to be tonight at midnight, I call the congregation together, we summon up Mambo Claire for ya, sure for five hundred. And a chicken she said regaining her assertiveness. We need poul for dis, and they dear. Come back at midnight with 50 gold. And the chicken."
"Sounds good" said Ricmo smiling. "Thank you mother." Mambo Grace smiled back.
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In the forest, Marus could sense every creature, animal or bird within half a mile and know exactly what they were doing. She could hear a caterpillar crawling on a leaf. Whisperleaf's senses were almost as good. In the forest. But neither of them had really gotten the hang of cities yet. Too noisy, too many people, too much sensory overload. So it wasn't surprising that neither one of them noticed that they had picked up a tail when the entered the city gates. Not surprising but unfortunate. A tail which stuck with them, undetected, all the way back to the inn.
As the sun began to the set, and the companions sat around the table in their second floor room of Black Alice's Brew talking and laughing, even keen eyed and keen eared Marus didn't see or hear the soldiers, priests and paladins quietly closing in around the building. It wasn't until the whores next door let out a shriek as musketeers crashed through their building to take up positions on to the roof across from the inn that the party awakened to their danger. And by that time, they were surrounded.
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