[Reminder]

Mlinzi turns her efforts toward moving through the crowd along the sidewalk as best she can, being as polite as possible while pushing through as best she can.

It takes a couple of minutes, but you work your way through the crowded sidewalk. As you finish extricating yourself, seemingly at last, from the tangle of bodies, you look up and notice the guard stations on either side of the bridge's end are still both fully manned; the officers have not left their posts to assist in sorting out the crowd below. You quickly pass below one, and move out onto the island proper.

While the main road remains crowded, as you pass the first cross street you note that traffic flows at a more normal pace along its length. As you work your way a few more blocks away from the bridge, you begin to notice scattered groups of pedestrians going about their business on either side of the road, most dressed in the drab blues and greys commonly associated with factory workers.

[JackVII]

Glad to finally be out of the close press of bodies, Mlinzi pats herself down quickly to make sure no enterprising pickpockets had taken advantage of the close quarters caused by the accident to make off with anything. After taking a quick inventory, she sends her thoughts to Wawindaji Thank you for accompanying me and providing protection, dear friend. I will see you on our next hunt.

With that, Mlinzi bids goodbye to her wild spirit companion. Stepping over to one of the buildings lining the street, she leans against the outer wall and calls for a new companion to aid her now. Mzimu! I have need of your help! the elf thinks as she summons forth a new spirit companion. Surprisingly, the effort to call Mzimu is much greater than Mlinzi is used to, leaving her drained and winded. The elf remains silent as she tries to pull herself together.

In the astral, a spirit resembling a small Kikuyu tribesman steps out of the wall next to her. With ageless eyes, it ponders her form. Is something wrong, roho rafiki? Mzimu asks as he waits for Mlinzi.

It is nothing dear friend, Mlinzi replies. Calling you just took more out of me than I anticipated. Come, we are to meet someone about a job. With that, the elf pushes off from the wall and starts to ask some of the passersby if any of them have heard of Mosi's. She's strategic about it, trying to target relatively older men who may be willing to help a young girl in need.

[spoiler=OOC Rolls]Summoning Spirit of Man (3) w/Fear Power: Summoning (5) + Magic (4) (9d6.hits(5)=4) (Limited to 3 due to Force)
Spirit Resistance Test: Force (3) (3d6.hits(5)=2)
Drain Resistance Test: WIL (5) + CHA ( (13d6.hits(5)=0) (No Glitch, but fuuuuuu...)

Spirit of Man w/ Fear Power (3): 1 service.
Mlinzi takes 4 boxes of Stun Damage from Drain   [/spoiler]

[spoiler=Status]Condition Monitor: 0/10/||4/11 (-1 Wound Modifier)[/spoiler]

[Reminder]

She's strategic about it, trying to target relatively older men who may be willing to help a young girl in need.

After a few ignored attempts, you eventually find a man willing to stop and listen to your question. Upon hearing it, he looks you over and gives you general directions and indicates it is still about a kilometer and a half distant.

That is quite a distance little one. Do you want me to take you there?

At this point you have enough information to find your way should you choose to do so, with a little bit of looking.

[JackVII]

"No, that's fine. I can see that you are a busy man. Thank you for the directions!"

With a nod and smile, Mlinzi makes her way to Mosi's with Mzimu following in the astral. A short kilometer later, she rests her eyes on a depressing looking dive-bar sandwiched between the industrial sector and the docks. Being used to far worse accommodations, she shrugs in indifference and enters the bar. Her natural low-light vision kicks in as she scans the room. With some time left before the meeting, she makes her way to the least occupied area of the bar and tries to make eye contact with the bartender. When she finally gets it, she says, "One Tusker please, draft is fine."

Looking forward to the cold brew, she tries to ease her aching head before the meeting time arrives.

[Ren]

Mutumbo paid for the beer then took a seat by one of the tables, as directed in the message. He opened the bottle, drew deep, then looked around again. He entertained himself by taking guesses about the patrons' professions. The elven woman puzzled him greatly. For one, he wasn't good at knowing the tribe of someone by the paintings and marks on them. For two, her attire showed her being a hunter, which was a bit ridiculous, because that usually was done by the men. For three, she wore that suit covering her full body, which must have been a hassle in this heat. He didn't stare too much, though, you never knew who might take offence.

[Csjarrat]

The satnav pinged to indicate his arrival. Johannes looks out of his dusty, grimy windows at the nothing looking bar and disengages his AR feed, killing the engine.
Striding in a little early, he takes a good look around for the meet and orders a sandwich and a bottled water and takes a seat

[Bewilderbeast]

Alexander quickened his step as he spotted the sign. For the past few minutes, he'd been afraid he was in the wrong part of town (in every sense). Skipping over a fetid pile of garbage and approaching Mosi's, Alexander stepped inside. Taking a seat near the back, he did his best to look inconspicuous, which was a bit difficult with his rumpled suit and pale skin. When a server approached, he ordered a bottled beer in broken Kiswahili before leaning back in his chair and scanning the crowd for his fixer.

[Crunch]

Francois leans into a small table in the corner attempting to cut road dust with a cheap local beer. His goggles are pushed up on his forehead, his bandana hangs loose around his neck and his helmet and gloves sit on the table in front of him. He scans the crowd and smiles lazily, humming almost inaudible to himself.

[Reminder]

Your orders arrive one by one and time slips by. 1600 becomes 1630, then 1700. Additional patrons begin file in slowly, in twos and threes,  their day of labor ended. It is nearly 1800 when a waitress appears, collecting what you owe, before setting down a final drink that you do not recall ordering at each of your places. As you look to the drinks, you notice that they have been set next to napkins, on which  "back corner, left and opposite the door"is scrawled in faint lettering. As you turn to look, you notice the small African woman you recognize as Asha sitting alone in a secluded booth in the back. How she got there you are not sure, as she is distinctive enough that you would have noticed her entering with any of the other patrons.

[Crunch]

Francois stands wearily and tosses back the last of his beer. He glances around the room as he gathers his gloves and helmet and purses his lips in a gesture of annoyance. He weaves his way skillfully through the tap room to Asha's table.

Asha he nods politely as he pulls out a chair. Lovely to see you Were you delayed by the trouble outside? Francois' tone is light and his English has a pronounced French accent. He sits and puts his helmet and gloves on the table.

Power plays like showing up late to a meeting on your own turf are the cost of doing business in the minor leagues. Still, good to keep in mind that she's the kind of fixer who wants to prove she owns you. Watch yourself Frenchy. Are we waiting for more, or can we get down to business?

Thought
Speech-English
Speech-French
Speech-Arabic
Speech-Kiswahili
Matrix/Text

[Ren]

Mutumbo looked around puzzled. Asha was becoming more of a mystery every time they met. He hoped the fixer really got delayed, although he suspected this was some elaborate plan to make him nervous and put her in a better position for negotiations. And he wouldn't have chosen the Mosi's as a place to hang out at if he wanted to chug some down. His friends frequented places that were in the outlying areas.

Still, it was a job opportunity, he reminded himself, and probably not that simple as the last, he thought, when he saw the other guy sitting down next to Asha. He took the beer, his gear, then walked to the back table. When he heard the guy asking about waiting for others, he answered, in an almost perfect English, coloured by some local tones. "That would be me, i think. Or not just me. Hello, Asha." He sat down on one of the empty chairs, taking a place next to one of the walls. He looked at the other guy with obvious interest.

[JackVII]

Mlinzi cools her heels while waiting for the meeting time. She limits her drinking as the last thing she wants to do is be drunk for the meeting. She spends the time switching her attention back and forth to the few working trids in the bar, one showing a regional news feed and the other a football match between two Azanian teams. She vaguely wondered whether Asamando had ever been approved to play by FIFA but seriously doubted it. Who would want to play against a player that was just as likely to eat your face off than slide tackle you?

As 1600 passed, Mlinzi grew a little agitated. Considering the curt nature of the invite, she would think that the least that Asha could do would be to show up on time. By 1700, she was getting seriously pissed off. Dealing with a near riot, walking all the way into town... I know I need work, but this may be the last time I work for this fixer. Particularly if she stands me up.

"Is something the matter?" Mzimu sends to her. The spirit had been waiting in the astral outside on the bar's roof so as not to draw unwanted attention, occasionally sticking its head through to check out what was going on. "No, friend," the elf replies, "just my impatience. Thank you for staying with me."

As 1800 approaches, Mlinzi begins to gather her things to leave. Annoyed at the wasted day as well as her not apparently having a job to do, the girl flags the bartender and asks for her check. When it arrives, she's surprised to see an extra drink and a note on a napkin come along with it. Reading the note, she glances to the corner and sees the woman she knows as Asha. Well, imagine that... I wonder how she got in here? Paying her tab, she grabs the beer and napkin and starts to head toward the corner table. She's somewhat surprised when she notices a man with gloves and a helmet already seated at the table and another man doing the same thing as her. Quickly switching her vision to the Astral plane, she quickly scans the corner to make sure there are no nasty surprises.

"Head's up, Mzimu. My meeting is about to start. I know you have to go soon, friend."

Sitting down at one of the remaining seats, she says to all, "Jambo." Not sure what the relationship of the men at the table were to Asha, she awaited the fixer's reply.

[Spoiler=Dice Rolls]Assensing Test [9]: Assensing (2) + Intuition (4) (6d6.hits(5)=2)[/spoiler]

[Bewilderbeast]

As the time for meeting came and passed, the knot of tension in Alexander's stomach grew and grew. He needed this job, and if Asha changed her mind about him, he wasn't sure what he would do. He stayed at his table, sipping his singular beer and holding onto the thread of hope that she would show up. He'd never met her in person before, having only heard her voice over commcalls, so every woman that stepped into Mosi's sparked an eager little flare of anticipation in him.

The only previous work he'd done for her was strictly small-time, helping some hulking troll cross a checkpoint by having the goon pose as his bodyguard. The job was simple and went out without a hitch, but Alexander spent the afternoon scouring his memory for any mistake or slip-up that might have made a bad first impression on Asha. Had she found somebody more qualified? Had she decided he wasn't worth her time? These worries hounded Alexander until finally, mercifully, the server approached with Asha's note. All the self-doubt and panic melted away as Alexander walked confidently over toward her table. He flashed the woman he assumed was Asha a gleaming white grin before taking his seat. It was showtime.

"Asha," he said in English. "Nice to finally meet you properly."

[Csjarrat]

Boredom had finally kicked in, long after the sandwich went down and the bottle of water had long since been drunk. Most of the major news articles had been pored over in detail on Johannes link before the tap on the shoulder came.
Glad to finally be making some progress on what had been a painfully slow and boring day, Johannes headed across to the now busy table, not in the greatest of moods.
He nodded at Asha, flashed a half-smile at the others and took a seat.

[Reminder]

As you find a seat around the table, you are again struck by just how small this woman is. Though not  a dwarf, you would be surprised if she stood more than a meter and a half tall. Her sharp features make her seem a small statue carved from ebony. As you take a seat, she turns her bright green eyes to each of you in turn, but waits to speak until all have arrived.

"Good. You are all here. I assume no one had difficulties finding the way."

She speaks in smooth tones, in a slightly accented Kiswahili, her words followed a few seconds later by an electronic translation to English.

"A client has requested an escort for a field researcher on the ground. Rather than use an established guide service, the client prefers this excursion remain unofficial. It is my hope that you prove adequate to the task."