Boot heels clicked and clacked on the pavement.

Stopping in front of the alley, Angel looked around warily. They were watching here, she was certain. The fact she was not yet dead was a testament to the fact, that they were also interested in her. Or maybe they were frightened. Grinning at that last thought, the galdor sauntered down the center of the alley, glaring at any beggar that tried to get near here. Her murderous, disturbing eyes would let them know that certain death was the only thing she would give out this night.

Digging her heels in, she abruptly halted. "I was told... one of the Brothers hangs about this place. So I came, and so I will wait."

(( I don't want to be a bother... but could I get a mod's help on this? How Angel acts at the Clock's Eve party at the Mad Queen will kinda depend on how the meeting with the Bad Brothers agent goes. ))

((I'll do my sworn duty, but replies might be a bit slow until tomorrow night. You can PM the other mods to step in for me if you get impatient. ))

The residents of Angler's Alley were far beyond feeling such emotions as fear or respect; to their half-crazed minds, this woman held all the significance of an alley cat with none of the nutritional value, and like any other resident of Old Rose, she was largely ignored save for a few halfhearted requests for coin.

At first, Angel's general statement went unanswered. Her voice echoed hollowly between the two tenement houses.

Suddenly...

"Password," said a voice, quietly. Look though she might, the source of the voice was utterly unknown.

'Damn', Angel thought to herself, 'he didn't give me any password... I think...' If she had not been anticipating it, the sudden voice would probably have surprised her. But as it was, her eye just twitched a tad as the invisible companion gave its demand.

"All I was told was 'Angler's Alley at 30 o' clock.'" The peeved woman said in a low tone. Well, it seemed this wasn't going to go well at all, and she had gone to all that trouble to prepare.

"Really?" said the disembodied voice, sounding confused. "Not even some kind of like...cryptic hint? Hrm. That's unusual."

There was a sound of ruffled pages. After a moment, the voice spoke again.

"Says here, if you ain't got the password, I'm supposed to...what does this say? Oh, right...kill you."

There was the sound of a smack, and the noise rang loudly in Angel's ears. A second voice, this one female, berated the first: "Now, you always jump for that damn rule book. Why don't we listen to why she's here in the first place, before you go all homicidal? Did that thought ever occur to you?"

A pained whimper could be detected in the empty silence. "Go on, then," said the female voice, in an oddly motherly tone. "What's your business, hun?"

With a rather rigid smile, Angel took this all in. It was rather ridiculous, but she didn't dare laugh or even grin. She was by no means afraid of their threats, but she didn't feel like getting on anyone's bad side, at the moment.

"My business? Oh, nothing out of the ordinary, really. I'm just an ex-sky pirate looking for a job. My last crew met with an... untimely demise at the hands of the seventen. I was told that the Bad Brothers were always looking for experienced hands... and that they had good dental." Angel tapped her chin gentle while recounting her tale and reason for being in this gods-forsaken alley.

"Psh," said the male voice. "Where'd you hear that? Cor, my jaw's been hurtin' since last Yaris, can't get a decent healing without sellin' house n' home..."

"It was a joke, you sorry mungo," said the female voice pleasantly. "Now dearie, I don't hear any fear in your voice, an' that's good. But don't get any funny ideas. You ain't the only golly that's stooped down to ground level."

"You're going to let her in??"

"I surely am," the woman said, and at once there was a horrid grating noise near the wall.

"Enjoy your stay," said the female voice, becoming fainter, drowned out behind the sound of clockwork rumbling and gears turning.

The patch of wall to Angel's immediate left seemed to have become a sort of elevator; it had turned inwards, exposing a cramped little room with a mechanical pulley system running through a role in the floor. It looked worn with frequent use, and beckoned for her to step inside.

As the gears quieted and the dust settled, she thought she could feel a rumbling beneath her feet, almost like the vibrations from a far-off stampede.

This was more like it. "Well, you've been most hospitable, my thanks." As the wall beside her appeared to open ominously, she stepped in without a moment's hesitation. This was what she wanted. There were no second thoughts.

As leaned against the wall of the elevator and waited for it to resume moving, she was left wondering about that woman's off-hand comment about other galdori. This could be interested. No, she hoped it would be interesting. After three years, she needed a little excitement.

The elevator began to descend, taking Angel down slowly. The room became pitch-black as it sank into the earth, but if there had been light, Angel might have seen a layered cross-section of foundation, basements, plaster, wood, soil and rock.

After what seemed like hours but was only minutes, the elevator ground to a halt. It was far too dark to see, and the air was dank and musty; she could smell a hint of sulfur and feel a slight draft, as though she were in some sort of underground cave.

Angel took several tentative steps forward. She thought about lighting a match but was too unsure of the surrounding sulfur to chance setting anything off, so she carefully felt her way forward for several feet down the tunnel. Her senses worked overtime grasping for some sound or some type of light.

The tunnel had no foreseeable end; the walls felt slimy to the touch, and smelled of damp moss. She could feel the ground beginning to slope. For several yards, the incline became steeper and steeper.

Suddenly, with no warning at all, Angel felt herself teetering on the brink of a sharp cliff. She did not fall, but there was a scary moment as she wobbled...

Angel let out a thankful sigh as she balanced herself. Had she taken a wrong turn? Were there any turns at all? For a moment she seemed at a lost. She contemplated letting out a call for help, but decided against it. Down was the only way to go, so she jumped. If she met the ground she planned on rolling to soften her fall.

Angel didn't have long to wait.

Her foot snagged on some type of rope, and suddenly she was flat on her stomach in a net, the wind knocked out of her. The net began to drop, and after a few moments it hit the ground. Far away, echoing in the cavern, a bell sounded - an alarm, no doubt.

Angel felt herself pulled up roughly and pinned against the wall. Her assailant was invisible, and seemed to have no smell, which was unusual for the occupants of Old Rose; she could see, as her eyes adjusted to the light, that he was wearing a full facial mask. Her position against the wall was firm but not uncomfortable.

"Who are you?" the stranger asked, in a calm, deadpan, androgynous voice; Angel couldn't tell if he was male or female. He didn't seem angry, but he was definitely going to hold her until he had made certain she wasn't a thread.

Angel wasn't upset that she was caught--she was just happy she wasn't a galdor pancake. As her mysterious rescuer appeared from nowhere, she couldn't help smiling. He was so... nonchalant about the whole thing. Not to mention there was absolutely nothing defining about him at all. She was a bit sore from being snagged, but at least she wasn't being crushed into the wall.

"Th' name's Angel. What, pray tell, may I call my strangely nondescript rescuer?"

"My name is Quicke," he said flatly. "Why are you here, and what do you want?"

"Well, Sir Quicke, I am here seeking employ with the Bad Brothers." Angel replied quite matter-of-factly. She cracked her neck and stretched a bit.

The man (?) released her instantly and stepped away.

"Are you armed, Angel?" he inquired, giving no indication of what he meant by the question with his tone.

"Of course I am, and in more ways than one." She winked at him. As he could plainly see, a plethora of weaponry was readily available to her around her belt. But there were other hidden tricks, along with her magic.

"Good," said Quicke, rather emphatically. "Take my hand, and I will lead you down the dark passageway."

With Angel in tow, he headed away from the wall. A moment ago, there had been another wall there; he placed a hand in front of the space and pressed a hidden lever. With a cranking noise, the wall lifted up.

"Dozens have died in that room," he said mildly as they passed through a narrow corridor into an open area.

At first, the lights blinded Angel, as her eyes had become used to the dark. She found herself standing on a ledge in a simply enormous cave; the ledge was a road leading along the wall in a spiral to the bottom, and she could see pulleys and lifts that would take them even lower. From the ceiling, hundreds of stalactites hung, dripping ice-cold water; the air was damp and surprisingly clear, as though there were some type of draft.

"This is called the Sanctum," said Quicke as they made their way down the ledge. "It is our base of operation, and the mint for Hawke's currency."

Angel couldn't help feeling slightly foolish at being dragged through the darkness by the man, though she was glad to be released. However, all thoughts and feelings were banished from her mind as she was blinded by the sudden light. As the scene before her came into focus, she couldn't help but wondering at it all. What other secrets lay beneath Old Rose?
"The Sanctum..." Angel repeated as she followed him down the ledge. "I hope it will not trouble you to be questioned, but what will be expected of me, Sir Quicke?

"First, you must stop calling me 'Sir'," said Quicke, with no hint of humor in his voice. "You will be taken to a debriefing room, where we will go over your history and your aptitude. Then, you will be reviewed by Hawke's second-in-command."

"Alright, alright, no more 'sir'..." Angel said with a short laugh. This one was amusing, though he was quickly losing interest. "Well, let's get this over with!"

Quicke led Angel down more winding staircases. This place seemed to go on and on forever; she could see various members of Hawke's criminal underground being ferried around on the lifts, which went sideways as well as up and down.

"There are many exits and entrances," said Quicke, "but they are heavily guarded in case of attack. The Angler's Alley entrance is for new recruits. If we had not been expecting you, you would have fallen upon rusty spikes."

She could see this place was a true fortress, almost a whole city in and of itself. There were even businesses - she spotted a few taverns and eateries lining the rock walls. They passed a floating bar, which was suspended by hundreds of ropes; the bartender was casually doling out drinks to the people on the nearby cable cars.

Leading her along a particularly narrow ledge, he showed her a doorway hidden within the rock face, which he opened with a series of complex knocks.

Inside, she could see a strange room - it was richly upholstered, but every bit of furniture was simply carved out of the room. A thick Mugrobi carpet covered most of the rock floor. Exotic lamps burning naphtha lined the wall in sconces, bolted directly into the rock. The room smelled of subtle incense, possibly Hoxian.

Quicke gestured to a rock chair, which was augmented by a cushioned seat and back, and took his place behind the desk. He did not remove his mask.

"You are not from Old Rose," he said; it was difficult to tell whether or not he was looking at her, but his face was pointed in her direction. "Why do you want to join the Bad Brothers?"

He did not ask why a galdori woman, of good stock, would want to join the Bad Brothers; it was noticeable that he had not acknowledge her race at all.

Angel watched with interested glances as she passed various establishments.

Entering the man's "office", she flopped down onto the rock chair. "Well, no, I'm not from Old Rose, but what does that have to do with anything anyways? As for why I want to join... it would be correct to say that I was in the Bad Brother's employ. My ship smuggled drugs and slaves for Hawke. Now that I find myself without a ship or a crew, I figured my various skills may be of use to the Bad Brothers."

Quicke's mask moved - perhaps he had raised an eyebrow.

"When was this, exactly?"