Dionysus The same crew is there when you get there.

Dionysus You can smell the great beast the halfling leans against.

Dionysus You can smell Domy's menagerie, which Hunny settles in with quickly.

Dionysus Qualla makes a rude comment about the blind, but focuses on the dice game, as you can hear.

Arsul (what's in the menagerie?)

• Arsul ignores her and sits with the others

Arsul "Anyone interesting yet?" he says grinning

Dionysus Animals of every magical stripe arein it.

Dionysus "Your band's the only one today," Domy says.

Dionysus Qualla says, "so... no."

Arsul "Too bad."

Arsul "Where did you pick up your zoo? You were alone last I saw you."

Dionysus "All over the world. There's an animal from every Empire and then some."

Arsul he has sea creatures?

Dionysus You can smell sea-like aromas.

• Arsul scratches Hunny's ears as he selects one of his cigarettes. "Tell me about them. There's only so much one can tell from smell and hearing. And if I learned nothing on the moons, it's that everything smells odd there."

Dionysus Domy laughs and starts talking idly about his menagerie.

Dionysus It fills the time of watching. Occasionally, translucent tourists or workers walk by.

Dionysus There are going to be hours of a lot of nothing. Minor chitchat goes on. They seem to welcome you into the group by just acting like you've always been there.

Arsul (can I smell/hear them?)

Arsul (the tourists I mean)

Dionysus No, but the others comment on them, especially Qualla.

Dionysus Ushy occasionally asks people odd questions about their journeys, or talks about musicians he loves.

Dionysus Shatter, Mirot, and Jemora enjoy betting games, and Qualla sometimes joins them.

• Arsul is happy to answer his questions and ask about his own

Dionysus Rella, the halfling, tends to speak only to comment on the abilities or skills of others, if someone brings up the subject of other Contestants.

• Arsul doesn't join their games as he's certain they would not like that

Dionysus And the two quiet ones, Gom and Ovanembra, remain that way. Gom says a word or two now and then, but not much. Ovanembra never speaks.

Dionysus Rella will comment on what those powers or skills are.

Dionysus Mirot tends to tell ribald joke. Shatter is quick to defend people. Jemora likes to call the odds on things.

Arsul (give me an example of the odds?)

Dionysus "See that first round match up of Fane Crow and Unity, the nightingale?

Dionysus "Now, the high seed is indicative of not a lot--musical ability is only one factor in that.

Dionysus "How, well, bad ass a group is counts more there.

Dionysus "Fane Crow can kill with a look. Unity is a bit tough, but she's not much, really.

Dionysus "So musically, now, it comes down to a lot. Not knowing the theme of the first round, I can only speculate.

Dionysus "Unity has a good voice and solid rhythm. She's a drummer.

Dionysus "But then, Fane Crow has a voice that makes statues weep and no qualms at all. So... 4 to 1, Crow's favor."

Dionysus Both of them

Arsul "I'd say that's fair."

Dionysus She nods, "Now, the Balladeer versus Henry the Guileless?"

Dionysus "I've never heard the Balladeer play.

Dionysus "But he's right out of the storybooks and old ballads, they say.

Dionysus "He's /legendary/.

Arsul "Naturally."

Dionysus "I give it a straight up 10,000 to 1, Balladeer's favor. Hank's gonna be /creamed/."

Arsul "I wouldn't sell him quite so short. We've all heard about Henry's --disability but he's supposed to be an excellent oboist."

Dionysus "You leave the odds to me, prophet. You might know fate, but I know luck."

Dionysus "Your bout?"

Arsul "Let's hear it." he says grinning

Dionysus "Even odds. You're all amazing, and probably have tricks up your sleeves, but the Starlings are better than you think. Still, overall, I give your band 10 to 1 odds in your favor to win it all."

Arsul "Could be worse."

Arsul "Are you taking bets on all these odds?"

Dionysus "Oh yes."

Dionysus Her voice lights up.

Arsul "Interesting."

Dionysus "Got a bet now?"

Dionysus "And no fair looking."

Dionysus She stops.

Dionysus "No."

Dionysus "Come to think of it, I ain't takin' bets from you."

Dionysus She pauses again, then steps up next to you and whispers, "But play a game with me, and I could make us millions."

Arsul "I don't bet anymore."

Arsul he shakes his head ever so slightly after she whispers

Dionysus She sighs, "Just keep me in mind, Profit."

Arsul "Of course."

Dionysus "Ovanembra over there is your competition first round, Profit," she says.

Dionysus She indicates the one that smells of whispers

Arsul (he's a member of the Starlings?)

Dionysus That's what she seems to be saying, yes.

Arsul "It'll be good to hear you." he says toward the smell

Dionysus The individual does not answer.

Arsul He doesnt' expect an answer

Dionysus So, nothing much is going to happen there the first day.

Dionysus They keep up the chitchat.

Dionysus When it starts getting dark, they slowly start to file off, mentioning no one ever arrives at night.

Arsul "Why not?"

Dionysus And Domy invites you to dine with him in the cafeteria. "No one knows, but I imagine that time's just different here. Whenever you show up outside of here, it's daytime to us."

Arsul "Time is strange." he admits

• Arsul joins Domy

Dionysus He eats raw steak in huge piles. You?

• Arsul will eat as he normally does, cooked food if possible

Arsul he'll order or retrieve similar food for Hunny and if there's honey to be had, that as well

Dionysus She has at the honey with a passion

Arsul Where has Lucilla been today?

Arsul are any others from my party/entourage in the cafeteria?

Dionysus Training yard with Klaus and Rumbleford.

Dionysus Not at the moment. Other members of the Starlings and Ocean of Sound are in the cafeteria, though.

Dionysus Domy tells you who they are.

Arsul do the other Starling members smell odd?

Arsul "We have not met the Ocean of Sound yet."

Dionysus "Rella's one of them, but she's not here."

Dionysus The Starlings smell: of human-like, but not quite. You don't place it exactly. Some sort of pseudohuman; badgerman, strongly, with dog and some sort of magical deer mixed in--he spends time with hounds and wears deer skin; and elf, high elf probably.

Dionysus The Ocean smell of wild talent and some sort of fiery bird; human and the sea, with a parrot a lot like Arlie's; that mix of troll and morag that is a slayer troll, with some sort of snake; a sirine, like Wivena, with some sort of exotic fish; shemir wiyth some sort of fox; a lunarian with a hint of lizard (his steed, not present); wolf and lightning; and human, armor, and a hunt of horse (her steed, not present). The last is a young girl.

Arsul she smells like wolf and lightning?

Arsul or someone else does?

Dionysus Someone else does.

Arsul "The wolf in the Ocean, what do you know of him?"

Dionysus "The night wolf, or his sorta-werewolf master?"

Arsul "Both."

Dionysus "The night wolf's just a night wolf. The other is a Servitor of Force. Sparks shoot out of his fur. He's like Rella. All of them are: they're sizing you up. They want to win, badly."

Arsul "Everyone sizes everyone up here." he says smiling slightly

Dionysus Domy laughs lightly, "Most of them. Others keep to themselves. And some just don't care. Like that Walker of Time. She likes to engage in those games with people."

Arsul "What games?"

Dionysus "You know how Walkers of the Path are. Challenges and such."

• Arsul nods. "Have you done a challenge?"

Dionysus He shakes his head, "If you've met a different Walker, you're not eligible for a second unless, as she says, you've 'gone full circle.'"

Arsul "Died and been reborn. Which walker did you challenge with?"

Dionysus "Pestilence."

Arsul "What happened?"

Dionysus "I named more poisonous beasts than he could. He granted me the ability to resist all manner of disease and venom."

Arsul "A very useful prize."

Dionysus He nods, "You met one?"

• Arsul nods. "Fauna. He sent me Hunny, in a way."

Dionysus He laughs, "Damned good prize."

Dionysus "Tell you what, Arsul. You let her train with me and I'll see to it she's in tiptop shape come time."

• Arsul laughs. "She does well already. You train with your animals?"

Dionysus "I do, and there's nothing saying she's not good now. But any of us can improve. Trust me, Arsul. She trains with us, she'll learn how to harness her inner ferocity."

Arsul "Maybe we'll try it tomorrow. When do you do it?"

Dionysus "Dawn."

Arsul "I'm always up. We'll see you at the fields."

Dionysus He nods, "It'll be a pleasure."

Arsul "Now, they serve drinks in this joint?"

Dionysus Domy laughs, "Anything you could ask for."

Arsul "Excellent. Want one?"

Dionysus "Just tea for me, if I'm gonna be up at dawn."

• Arsul nods and goes to the line

Arsul or ordering area or what have you

Dionysus There's a bar for drinks

Arsul he brings them back

Arsul and chats with Domy

Dionysus Domy tells you tales.

Dionysus Of his songgathering

Dionysus Of his family

Dionysus Of motehr

Dionysus mother

• Arsul listens and tells his own tales

Dionysus So does Arsul make a routine of training with Hunny, practice, and gatewatching?

Arsul what is the practice like?

Dionysus He sits and coaches as the animals play rough.

• Arsul is curious how Hunny feels about it

Arsul He can usually tell if she's pleased or not

Dionysus She seems to enjoy it, but also takes it seriously. You can't tell how, but Domy seems to talk to them.

Arsul Then yes, we go

Arsul and yes, routine is fine. He's done things routinely most of his life: practice, play at a show, drink, sleep, do it again

Dionysus Okay. I'm gonna start describing arrivals soon if Jack doesn't show up by 8. Until then, sit tight?

Arsul I'm good

Dionysus I'm seething with rage

Dionysus As soon as Aurelia's done with this convo, I'm doing the arrivals in the main chat

Dionysus Uriah gets that drink, then says, "Thank you, Prophet."

Arsul "Of course."

• Arsul grins

Arsul "How long has it been? Time is funny here."

Dionysus It took me about three months to get all the songs and get here.

Dionysus ""

Arsul how long has it seemed to me since I left him?

Dionysus About three months

Arsul "Then perhaps it's not so odd as I thought. Many seem to think it is though. Odd."

Dionysus Uriah says, "It is the past and present here. Time flows, but does not matter. When all is over, it will not be after we entered."

Arsul "It is not the first place I've been to in which time goes forward and back."

Dionysus Uriah smiles, "I am thinking that time always does, but we don't always notice. But that might not be so."

• Arsul frowns. "It's hard to tell. I cannot sense time the way I can so many other things. It doesn't smell, or create a movement through the air or ground that I can feel, it has no sound. However, I can sense it passing in visions. The only sense that normally doesn't percieve my present surroundings. Both time and fate seem to be tractable, changeable. I wonder what it would be like to sense time."

Dionysus He smiles, "Ask your watcher?"

Arsul "My what?" he asks, curious and slightly confused

Dionysus "The creatuers of time, that record history. They live in time, and we do not see them."

Arsul "You think I have one? Do you?"

Dionysus "I'm sure all the Contestants do."

Arsul "Do you think he'll answer?"

Dionysus "Not at all," he laughs

• Arsul grins. "Too bad really."

Dionysus "Yeah, his loss."

• Arsul mostly wanted to talk with Uriah again. He enjoys his company

Dionysus Any others?

Arsul I've pretty much done em

Arsul he would divine on his watcher

Arsul He wants to know what he sees

Arsul What does my watcher see?

Dionysus You see yourself

Arsul in a trance?

Arsul why do they watch?

Dionysus Watching at the gate is what you see yourself doing in the vision

Arsul and the second question?

Dionysus You see a copper toned shemir like being writing down history

Arsul Why do they record the history?

Dionysus You see a vision of an ancient book called "The Code"

Arsul What is in "The Code"?

Arsul rather, what does it say?

Dionysus There's about 20,000 rules, most of them revolving around the core tenants listed on the watcher's race page.

Arsul so the Code requires that they record history?

Dionysus Yes

Arsul What qualifies as direct confrontation?

Dionysus Here?

Dionysus Or as a watcher?

Arsul watcher

Dionysus You see the 3000 rules clairfying that part of the code

Arsul What are the loopholes of the Code and what do they allow a watcher to do?

Dionysus After billions of years, very, very few exist, and mostly, they allow watchers to have a small chance to defend their actions before the

tribunal via "it was in the interest of Time."

Arsul What situations would allow my Watcher to talk to me?

Dionysus None. You are fate.

Arsul Figured.

Arsul Would they record my visions if they could?

Dionysus No, they'd be ousted if they tried

Arsul they aren't considered part of history?

Dionysus It's a complicated area

Arsul Who is my watcher?

Arsul he wants to know a bit about the man, understand him

Dionysus His name is Roqul

Dionysus Roqul is considered brave for a watcher, because he specializes in watching fate people

Arsul Is he afraid of fate?

Dionysus All watchers are a little, but he isn't as bothered by it as some

Arsul when he comes out of his trance, which he did later that evening in his quarters, he'll say aloud, "I understand why you can't talk to me and why you'd not want to. I am interested though, about time and how you all move and look through it. But I'll do my best to not get you in trouble."

Dionysus No response

Arsul oh one more question before I came out of trance?

Dionysus Yes?

Arsul rather, one more line of questioning

Arsul Do watchers become interested/invested in the lives of the people they watch?

Dionysus Their passion is time. If their ward is Time-related, they sometimes do. Others do in odd circumstances, like the one that is the Maze Master for the Sathers, but they're rare

Arsul And Roqul?

Arsul Has he been interested in any of the things I've done?

Dionysus Devoted to time, not fate.

Dionysus You see he spent more time writing about the temple of time and space than anything else in your life

Arsul makes sense

Arsul He's been with me my whole life?

Dionysus Yes.

Arsul huh neat

Arsul Do all Toutants have one?

Dionysus Yes