It is an ordinary sort of day in the city, which may or may not be Amber, Heaven, or Hell. By a shop door, two slightly less ordinary people stand. A red-head in a green dress, and a... is that Death? No, it's just a man in a cowl. They are looking into the door, although this being Amber, it is not the sort of door one walks into to look into a shop - they are not bothering to look into the sales hatch to their left. Door it is.

Kynan says, peering in, "Definitely curious for being a not-warehouse."

The not-warehouse continues to show exactly as much sign of danger. Nothing jumps out at Kynan or Danielle. No walls suddenly fall. All is peaceful!

Kynan calls to the inside, "Knock, knock? Anyone home?"

Danielle mms well I think all of my theories regarding the shift, just went out the window. Let's see if we can find fog or something as it appars to be an agent of change of sorts. shall we go in for a look

No answer. No stir. Just Kynan's voice, loud enough to attract attention - and no attention from the inside.

Vitas wanders up with a look of profound perplexity on his craggy angular face. Or perhaps a look of perplexed profundity, although that -does- seem a bit less likely. He's outfitted in KingsGuard kit, more's the pity, so he might be 'On Duty' . . . the Guard have been out and about more often these days after all. Saves the awkwardness of addressing the faceless and formless 'Yer Magesty' only to hear vague whispers in reply. That does get old.

Kynan waits for a moment then says, "Ah well, no guts, no glory, nothing of the former spilled on the floor." He starts to take a step in, then hears someone approaching from the rear, and turns halfway. "Good day, Vitas. Back me up here if needed?" But he doesn't really wait for a reply and boldly steps in.

Inside, Kynan's feet land on... floorboards, grey with use and the ground-in dust of clay. The potter's shop seems very much like a potter's shop. The wheel, that was grinding to a halt, stops entirely.

Danielle explains as they walked in explaining to Vitas as she does "this was not here a few weeks ago when kynan and i explores the area inits place was a large brick wall

Danielle adds "like the other houses. like they suddenly poofed out of existence

Vitas observes the possibly - brazen acts of possibly - breaking - and - entering, and scratches the stubble on his chin, looking thoughtful. "Hm..." Vitas ventures. Hm. Well, at least it's not breaking - and entering if there's no breaking, only entering, right? And someone intent on breaking and entering would hardly call the cops for backup. Would they? No. At least, not usually. "Ermmm..." continues Vitas, working towards some sort of 'Hey what's going on here?' query but not quite having arrived at that particular conversational destination just yet. This arrival is postponed yet further once it's been explained that this used to be a blank brick wall. Vitas examines the shop. Nope, not a brick wall now. Clearly something wonky is happening . . .

Vitas rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 15, using notice,magic sense.
The result is a success.

The hearth of the potter's shop is still burning, including a few twigs that should be ash if left for longer than a few moments. The brick wall is now wood and stone, and has a doorway and a large hatch that opens to convert into a space for displaying and selling wares.

Nope. Not Brick.

For Vitas, extending his senses and trying to make, as it were, /sense/ of this... there is no magical problem whatsoever. Everything seems normal. Just... stone where some people expected brick. No scene of burned air, not feeling of being put through the magical wringer... It feels like a place, that's all.

Kynan stares at the stopping wheel, and looks around for other exits, or places behind which the former user of said-wheel might have ducked. "Helloooo! We're just here to look around and talk! Nothing more!" He notices the still-burning hearth, and other still-lived-in traces.

This is an ordinary sort of room, on the inside, with a potter's wheel, some drying bowls that look like they have just been thrown on the wheel in question, and some finished, glazed work. There is a heat source further in, and the whole room is pleasantly warm, if one likes saunas.

There is a door... It is partially open, even.

Danielle walks, slowly about the room, first to the fire, to feel its warmth then the open door which is als pushed against as she sreps forward "Hello"

Vitas likes saunas. Perhaps it's just a Nordic thing? Or perhaps it's more of -the- perfect way to relax and unwind one's tired and sore muscles after having gotten the crap beaten out of you by an angry mob on account of some tomfool - absurd and random decree that the King just felt he -had- to impose? Either way, though, Vitas likes saunas. And there's one here! (No, probably not, though it seems like -something- equally warm is off behind the portal ajar.) "Hulloo! KingsGuard. Everyone OK in there?" Vitas ventures, before knocking and entering. See, -much- nice than breaking - and - entering . . .

Like many small houses in Amber, there is a kitchen behind the door. There is a hot kiln, however, which is unlike many small houses. Vitas and Danielle get there at about the same moment, and are faced with a sudden, terrified scambling. A cat launches itself off the table at them.

Kynan heads towards the door in a not-threatening, not-stealthy, not-overly-quickly way, just his usual unsteady gait. He peers into where it leads. "Knock, knock..." But he spins and brings his staff to the ready at the commotion behind him.

Danielle puts up her hands to ward off the laubching feline but tries to keep her voice calm "woah kitty. Hy vytos. is that rat-trick a repeat deal?"

(... commotion in front.)

CRASH TINKlelelele... bowls fall. The cat hits the floor at about the same time, making for the door... Just a cat.

Vitas steps on through the portal and reflexively sniffs at the air of the kitchen. *sniff sniff snifff?* Why does it smell like cats in th- . . . oh, because there's a cat. That'd be why. "*!CHASE CAT!*" urges most of Vitas' brain, to the rest of Vitas' brain, shouting in uppercase for emphasis. "Erm . . . but, why?" respond the more rational bits, to the shouty bits of Vitas' brain. "Oy, kitterz, calm down eh?" says the part of Vitas' brain that is actually in charge of saying things, in the out-loud for-real to-the-rest-of-the-world way. (Well. -Someone- is going to have to take charge, right?)

ZOOOOM. It dashes between legs, and it's gone. A panicked thing that was not expecting a set of not-breaking-but-entering visitors. It leaves behind fish, potatoes... The meal it was eating.

Kynan lets it dash by him, unharmed. "It seems to be just a cat. But the wyvern seemed to be just as dead, so I would not completely ignore our rear." He turns his attention to the no-living-things in the kitchen, except for his friends. At least, no other persons, it seems. "Strangely vacant, yet it should not be from all appearances."

This is a short house: there is a door to the outside, with light under the base, but no fog, no sign of anything untowards. There are oil lamps here, for the light.

Danielle hms "i think that's the first time we've encountered a leaving being in one of these places. also the most significant change after we'd interacted interacted with an area, the building in general i mean. Do you see anyfog?

Vitas wonders, out loud, sotto voice: "Hey, uh . . . where's the other half of the house? Where are the beds?" Vitas turns around in a circle, looking about in consterned perplexity, twitching his whiskers that he doesn't have. Vitas looks about for fog, seeing only the natural grey of a rainclouded sky, rather than the grey of the horrible encroaching fog.

Kynan rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 15, using occult, magic sense.
The result is a success.

Outside, of course, there is weather. Inside here there is the kiln and the shards of pottery, and ... well, just a place.

There is only one small window at the back, looking upwards, to a tiny slice of sky.

For Kynan, too, with his understanding of magic - this is just a *place*.

Kynan looks around the kitchen, then goes back to the outer room, studying the walls and ceiling. "No weather, fog or no, that I can see." Then to Vitas, "Well, if this was a full-time shop, perhaps the proprietor lived elsewhere. But these days, real estate is in somewhat short supply. And fog estate is not to be recommended. And I would not guess that business is booming."

Vitas *snif sniff sniffff*'s some more, in order to work out where, exactly, the fish and potato catmeal had come from? And/or where the 'missing half' of the house has gone off to?

The cat meal was probably cooked in this kitchen, but there is no evidence of where or how the people who work and possibly even live here actually sleep.

There is a back door, a front door and a front service/sales hatch, and a door between the two rooms, front and back.

Vitas rolls with advantage 0 at difficulty 15, using notice.
The result is a success.

Kynan hmms. "If we were to leave, and come back tomorrow, I wonder if the place would be like it should be, if no one lives here. Or would it still look like this?"

This sort of place... it's small. Very small. So it likely cannot have much room, even for a ladder. But this is a poor part of town. People know this. There is probably a shared stair somewhere.

Vitas: "Hm. Anywhere you could see that a shared-stair or ladder might be?" Vitas wonders, aloud sotto voice. He then proceeds to look as well. Even if no one else does. He doesn't mind.

There are no cupboards - the only place would be outside, either in a different house, or - more likely - an outer stair.

Kynan says, "If this were Pathi, or the house of one of my brethren, what you see might very well be not what you get. But my ability to bend space does not work here, so it is perhaps unlikely. And even more unlikely to meet any of my brethren outside of Pathi, even in former days. I suppose we should check the back of the shop." He heads back towards the kitchen, to the back door.

The door opens outwards, to tell from the lack of inside hinges.

Vitas takes all this in stride. Vitas does not ask how to 'bend space.' Nor what brethren - of - Death might be afoot, whether in Pathi or not - in - Pathi. Being a KingsGuard can be a masterclass in learning to keep your dang mouth shut. Vitas pads along after Kynan, to see what's out back of this small structure.

Kynan pushes the back door open, pausing just a moment to see if anything might be lying in wait, before heading outside.

Outside is blackness - the light pours in, lighting the kitchen, but it comes as if the fog is not there... Yet the fog is detinitely there. A wall of it that the door swings open into, and then tendrils grab for Kynan.

Kynan rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 15, using combat, fire mage.
The result is a success.

Kynan goes to take a step, stops, and drops his staff to firing position. None of this mamby-pamby fireball here... From his staff, fire forms into a sheet that fills the doorway. "Whoa, bad fog! Where did you come from? Keep your moisty tendrils off of me."

That stops it, with the minor problem of setting fire to the door lintel, and thus providing even more light in the room.

Vitas doffs his thick KingsGuard cloak and *pat pat pats* out the fire. OK then.

(The fire that's -inside- the house of course. The fog can deal with the Outside Fire.)

That, of course, gets him closer to where the fog was... but it has retreated a little. The door has just gone, as if it were wiped away. A stub of door swings from the hinges.

(It is singed, but not on fire. Maybe the fog did deal with the Outside Fire.)

Kynan backs away from the doorway, "I am going to release the fire, as it did not seem to be all that harmed by it. And we are just as likely to be harmed if this place goes up in flames. I would suggest trying what Gavel said to do last time."

And indeed, the fire filling the doorway fades as Kynan backs up.

Vitas nods and backs away from the doorframe. "Fair 'nuff. Might I suggest: Us, Leaving?" Vitas throws that out there. You never know. Could be an option. There's been no crime here. Yet. No official necessity to hang out in this Neverland 'twixt Fog and the fire . . .


**********************************************************************
Nothing bad has happened in the Lower City. Nobody has been taken by the Fog. Kynan 'The Living Death' did not burn anything down. Move along citizen.
**********************************************************************


Kynan rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 15, using occult, fire mage.
The result is a success.

Kynan sweeps his staff in front of him, and the parts of the doorway that were on fire extinguish themselves. He continues backing away, warily, watching if the fog will try to prevent them from leaving. "I agree, Vitas, no point in matching wits with fog. Never argue with something that does not have an obvious brain."

Vitas nods with some relief. Oy, to be sure it doesn't pay to argue with the Brainless. Especially the patrons of Bloody Bills' Fine Eatery, who've overstayed their welcome and are still drunk way past closing time.

Kynan retreats to the outer room, and closes the door, once Vitas is clear of the kitchen as well. "I would not presume that the fog is brainless, as it seems to have some will of its own. I have not considered if it could be drunk. Does Bloody's still exist here? I was never a patron of it in the past. Neither blood nor ale really interested me." He waits for a moment, casting light from his staff around the doorway to the kitchen, to see if they are being "followed".

Kynan rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 15, using occult, shadow mage.
The result is a success.

There is no evidence of following. The dim light of the oil lamps still shines, and that is all.