Four Feet to the Target (LM, The Desert, Observation/Conversation)

[Jewel]

He nods, looking around. Was there anyone he could approach that looks like they had ties to the right people - but would still stop to talk to the likes of him?

(Investigation/Awareness)

[Al-Haddar]

Lamis nods, swallowing the nut that she thinks is not quite so fresh as all that, but at least doesn't seem to have been unearthed from someone's forgotten stock of three years back or anything. "News passed among the trade networks while we were reasonably close, and I thought, 'why not?' I get to see the city, maybe see the fabled sorcerers, find some pretty trinkets for the little cousins. Those last and fresh news will make me pretty popular for a week."

She smiles slightly, "Cats and your own children are the best company if you want to be ignored completely, it is said. Horses are much more biddable." After a moment of thought she asks, "Wait...ratcatching is an actual job? They hire people to do that? I'm a bit afraid to ask what they do with the rats they catch...other than apparently let the cats have them." She'd seen some of the poorer sections of the city now, and now rather worried about whether she should switch to a meat free diet while in the city and unable to tell the provenance of what vendors were putting into their dishes.

"If it can be drunk or eaten, rats will drink or eat it. If it's soft enough to be gnawed, rats will gnaw it. If it exists, rats will dirty it. Say goodbye to your food reserve, any semblance of hygiene, and even the whole building if you let rats settle in your home. These things are ravenous, and have no issue with damaging the wooden parts of foundations of the very house they're in. Why would they, they often survive the collapse anyway, jumping out from the wreck and moving en masse to the closest sewer until they can find another place to invade.

They're a really big problem in the city, and especially in the Maze since the buildings are so closely knit, with a lot of basements interconnected and eventually linked to every putrid hole under the city, natural or man-made.

What the catchers do with the rats after they've caught... Their own trade secrets. Some mysteries are better left unearthed."

Two tones lower: "The sorcerers... The less you see them, the better you are."

Then back to normal: "Where are you from then if not the Jewel? You cannot be on the move all year long, even the most nomadic of people have to settle down somewhere from time to time."

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

"She is Soraya al-Menjari. And I sincerely hope that you find nothing to validate my paranoia."

(Investigation/Awareness)

Faruq tries, but he doesn't feel like he would be received well by most in the crowd to ask about this - not in this situation, at least.

Heading back to Kezia, he shakes his head slightly, his expression a bit heavy.

"No luck - not today, anyway. Maybe I can find something out later... we'll see. For now, though... keep your eyes open, Sayyeda."

OOC:
D3 LM - Finding someone to ask about Soraya - Inv/Awa, TN?: 2d10k2 9

[Kezia]

Heading back to Kezia, he shakes his head slightly, his expression a bit heavy.

"No luck - not today, anyway. Maybe I can find something out later... we'll see. For now, though... keep your eyes open, Sayyeda."

"I'm always happioer when there's nothing to find, Sidi."

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

"I'm always happioer when there's nothing to find, Sidi."

He gives her a weak smile - maybe showing some worry. "Well... yeah, you've said as much, Rafiqa. Let's just hope it stays that way, yeah?"

[Kezia]

He gives her a weak smile - maybe showing some worry. "Well... yeah, you've said as much, Rafiqa. Let's just hope it stays that way, yeah?"

"Very much so... take care of yourself, hm?"

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

"Very much so... take care of yourself, hm?"

He doesn't quite get her words, but he nods at her with a gentle, if weak smile. "Wa aleikum as-salaam*, Rafiqa"


OOC:
IIRC the meaning is 'and unto you be peace', which is fitting

[Kezia]

He doesn't quite get her words, but he nods at her with a gentle, if weak smile. "Wa aleikum as-salaam*, Rafiqa"

"You ever want to take in some music or dancing to lighten your spirits, you should swing by the caravan sometime..."

She gestured to their surroundings.

"I think you might find it a relief from all of this."

[Lamis Naaji]

"If it can be drunk or eaten, rats will drink or eat it. If it's soft enough to be gnawed, rats will gnaw it. If it exists, rats will dirty it. Say goodbye to your food reserve, any semblance of hygiene, and even the whole building if you let rats settle in your home. These things are ravenous, and have no issue with damaging the wooden parts of foundations of the very house they're in. Why would they, they often survive the collapse anyway, jumping out from the wreck and moving en masse to the closest sewer until they can find another place to invade.

They're a really big problem in the city, and especially in the Maze since the buildings are so closely knit, with a lot of basements interconnected and eventually linked to every putrid hole under the city, natural or man-made.

What the catchers do with the rats after they've caught... Their own trade secrets. Some mysteries are better left unearthed."

Two tones lower: "The sorcerers... The less you see them, the better you are."

Then back to normal: "Where are you from then if not the Jewel? You cannot be on the move all year long, even the most nomadic of people have to settle down somewhere from time to time."

Lamis' nose wrinkles in distaste. Rats, or rodents at least, are pests everywhere, but she's not dealt with them at quite this level of infestation. "Ugh. That's disgusting. Is that why so much is built of stone?" And why there were so many more wooden buildings in the poorer districts, possibly.

She nods, both to the sentiment about sorcerers, and to the guesses about moving and sitting still. "Right enough, there are bits of pasturage to move between, Oases to pause at. I think the Ra'Shari spend more time on the move than we do, most of the time. The Naaji consider Six Steps Oasis as their...not exactly home..." There's a pause to work on the concepts. "A touchstone, maybe? We're not there longer than any other spot, and several are as hidden, but it's where the foals and kids are born, so there's this consistency to it, and memories tied to that hectic season. Hard to explain why it's a little more 'home' than the other spots, honestly."

[Al-Haddar]

Lamis' nose wrinkles in distaste. Rats, or rodents at least, are pests everywhere, but she's not dealt with them at quite this level of infestation. "Ugh. That's disgusting. Is that why so much is built of stone?" And why there were so many more wooden buildings in the poorer districts, possibly.

She nods, both to the sentiment about sorcerers, and to the guesses about moving and sitting still. "Right enough, there are bits of pasturage to move between, Oases to pause at. I think the Ra'Shari spend more time on the move than we do, most of the time. The Naaji consider Six Steps Oasis as their...not exactly home..." There's a pause to work on the concepts. "A touchstone, maybe? We're not there longer than any other spot, and several are as hidden, but it's where the foals and kids are born, so there's this consistency to it, and memories tied to that hectic season. Hard to explain why it's a little more 'home' than the other spots, honestly."

"Hey, if it's your birthplace, I can kind of understand why it has a special place in your heart.

As for the why there? Traditions are weird. We never know if there's a good reason for them or not. Sometimes we keep following them out of habits long after they've stopped being relevant and just make our lives harder for no reason. Sometimes we decide to break them and learn the hard way there was an actual sound logic behind them.

I tend to advocate for some cautious respect of tradition there. For example, I've heard all my life the Khesir Quarter is an extremely cursed place, and though I only live a few blocks away, I've never felt like it was worth challenging that assumption."