07.07: Underwater Ball

The goings on of courts
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Joshua
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07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by Joshua »

For those of you taking the air-breather's path to Rebma, it is a trek down to the the docks in the city. Once there, a small entrance stands over a set of stairs the descends into solid rock. The stair is damp and cold, although once you get down about ten feet it actually warms up slightly. The stairs are perhaps six feet wide and descend slowly into the rock lit by pale glowing orbs. Thankfully, the solid rock keeps the water of the bay out, and minor (or major) enchantments keep the water pressure from backfilling this. After perhaps five or ten stories down, the stairs lurch forward, going under the bay and expanding slightly. After a quarter mile or so, carved arches start to appear and a more formal corridor appears.

It descends more, the sides of the corridor gaining portholes into the underwater cave. They are not held open by glass, but instead pure surface tension. (Around this area, your eardrums typically pop.) It ends in an ornate set of double-doors, sculpted out of the largest coral you're likely to have seen.

They open into a huge chamber made of coral and pearl with a marble floor. Several huge entrances on the side open into the water. Light is provided by brighter globes, and heat by a series of stones glowing lightly red. As this is a ball, there are no major tables though a series of chairs is lined up in case people with to recline. A refreshment's table is alongside one wall.

Attending at this early hour are perhaps six or seven assembled members of Rebma's court. A handful of merfolk, some fish-people (Sahuagin or people of the black lagoon), most are wearing lose-fitting silk dresses and outfits, and there's plenty of coral and other jewelry. Additional aquatic people will filter in, stepping through the surface tension that keeps the water out. Several of them are aquatic creatures that assume human form upon entering the air.

On a raised platform opposite the entrance there are three familiar looking thrones. Their wood seem very out of place with the rest of the ball, as would fire of any kind.

A pair of metal-wrought green-copper and gold thrones set with pearls of various hues, black, white and a giant purple one at the top of the ruler's throne sit higher up, on a balcony that overlooks the room. A staircase does lead to the ballroom floor so that whoever is there can make a dramatic show of descending to the rest of the party.

A similar balcony holds the musicians, currently playing a light selection of harp and other strings.

(OOC: Most precursor threads are winding down, so feel free to join when you wish. Also, this main thread is for entrances and determining who breaks up into what sub-conversations. That seemed to work well with the dinner.)
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Sadie
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Re: 07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by Sadie »

Opening the door to the ballroom in a in a gown and suit respectively of the highest quality, is Priscilla who seems to be taking inventory of everyone in the ball or at least their outfits, escorted by Nathaniel who is likely wondering how he ended up escorting a lady of such enchanting beauty* amongst all the other things he's experienced since last night.

Upon entering they separate and hold open each door and fall to one knee and bowing low as Sadie enters in a primarily azure gown of stunning beauty, truly the crowning masterpiece of a most skilled designer and clearly fit for only the highest of royalty escorted by Solten dressed in a primarily dark red suit of a status and quality only marginally less than that of Sadie's. Sadie takes a moment to nod to both of Priscilla and Nathaniel respectively with a smile** as she and Solten pass, after which the two rise to their feet and fall respectively behind the two.

* Selkie women are described as women of enchanting beauty down to the last.
**The smile barely contains itself from an awkward grin with cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment as she tries to maintain her dignified composure. It is also quite possible Solten might be unable to contain that slightly crooked grin of his due to the highly amusing and goofy nature of the situation
Sadie - "You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law..."
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coldcandor
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Re: 07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by coldcandor »

After an afternoon with Sadie, Prescilla, and quite possibly Ashara at a couple points, getting constantly informed of proper ballroom procedure, Solten is on his best* behavior. It's pretty obvious to any chaos-rank attendees that he's never been to something like this before, however. Once the entrance is properly made, he will scan the room for the few people he knows and upon seeing none, suggest they start with the refreshment table.

*best as defined by Solten. Duration yet to be determined. He will probably still offer handshakes to everyone.
Solten
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Sadie
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Re: 07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by Sadie »

Sadie, Priscilla and Solten apparently start of at The Refreshment Table
Sadie - "You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in a court of law..."
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Joshua
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Re: 07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by Joshua »

Darnell enters shortly afterwards wearing an outfit that resembles a cross between Jack Sparrow and Sherlock Holmes. (Guy on right (without plastic). Work-safe, but may hurt your brain.) He is accompanied by two very uncomfortable looking humans, Nathaniel's father and a lady who is likely Nathaniel's mother. Darnell will smile and explain, "The way back is the same as the way in. I hope you can find your way from here."

They will fade into the room for now, but should pop up somewhere.
misfit
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Re: 07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by misfit »

For a change of pace Nuall opts to forgo being fashionably late and is instead unfashionably prompt. He arrives in an outfit that looks somewhat like this. The major differences being that he's blonde, left the weapons and gloves at home, the boots are a highly-polished black, the jacket is a deep forest green, and the pants and shirt are a pale yellow. The outfit is not as ornate as he would normally choose, but that's the price one pays for buying "off the rack".

Nuall surveys the room for familiar faces, but the major personages he knows are all engaged at their
own pursuits, so he will drift over to the refreshment tables.
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Joshua
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Re: 07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by Joshua »

It is no longer "early" at the ball. So, between 6pm and 7pm. (it started at 5pm.)
People have been steadily filtering in for about an hour. So the dance floors have started picking up with random NPCs (if you're curious). Only about half a dozen nobles from City Amber have arrived (And Nathaniel and his parents are 3 of those), most are prestigious Rebma fishermen (really good fishermen can walk shadows and can attract a rock-star following), dock-worker representatives (most are actually members of Rebma who act as go-betweens) and more traditional nobles.

Oh yeah, and this guy. Apparently the first dragon of Rebma, who arrived at Rebma about a day ago. He's about 9 feet tall (4 feet at the shoulder when on 4 feet, he seems comfortable on two or four feet) and is attracting a bit of attention. For the sake of argument, he just arrived is wearing some basic coral jewelry and has about 4 or 5 fish-men around him trying not to be overly curious.
Wyvern
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Re: 07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by Wyvern »

Alystrakos arrives, exiting the air-breather's path into Rebma without any fanfare. She scans the room once, before moving out onto the dance floor to mingle with the various Rebma nobility.

For tonight, she's wearing a seemingly-diaphanous gown, a multitude of thin layers of red and purple silk giving the impression of transparency and shifting liquid without actually revealing more than a faint outline of the form beneath. Matching earrings take the form of gold and ruby-eyed sea monsters, while a medallion around her neck bears the same dragon emblem depicted on her trump card. Her belt and clawed opera gloves are patterned with golden scales, though those with a bit of knowledge of metallurgy will recognize the gloves as made of elven steel rather than true gold - they may be decorative, but they are also functional as both weapons* and armor.

Of additional note to anyone with at least mid-ranked psyche: Alys is clearly uncomfortable with being here - though only Asai is likely to immediately guess why. Those with at least amber rank can pick up on this with a bit of interaction - Alys is being careful not to show it or give offense, though, so you'll only have subtle cues to go on unless the topic comes up directly.

_____
* The claws are actually slightly blunted with a thin bead of a more malleable alloy; they won't cut on casual contact, but any blow with real force behind it will strip away the protective layer.
Last edited by Wyvern on Mon Jan 28, 2013 2:48 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Veyska
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Re: 07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by Veyska »

Asai pads into the ball not that long after Alys, though from the aquatic route, with a rather distracted air and a quill still tucked behind one ear. A few beads of water still dot the feather but either it was from an aquatic species or else Asai waterproofs her writing utensils (quite possibly both). Her attire is remarkably similar to what she wore at the gathering in Castle Amber, but the theme is different and appropriate to Rebma. In place of Celtic knots her harness is embossed and dyed to look like surprisingly lifelike fish scales in blue-green with flickers of gold iridescence, and in place of the thin golden hoops linked by a gold chain along her tail she sports what look to be chain-linked rings of coral (they're actually ceramic for durability, but the craftsman earned his fees with this job).
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Joshua
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Re: 07.07: Underwater Ball

Post by Joshua »

Due to a recent duel between two dancers and the musicians, the music is currently quiet. A lone flutist is playing a tune for those wanting to dance, but there's a bit of a slow bit at the ball.
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