The Ghostfence rp: Playground 1 Options

[bbqplatypus]

Apelles Velvus, Balmora

Apelles looked at the well-dressed Dunmer sitting rigidly at a table beside the massive stacks of crates and sacks full of supplies. His eyes were cast straight down at the supply manifest, which he was presently leafing through, a candle flickering beside him in the darkness. There were at least a half dozen Hlaalu guards standing around the supplies - insuring that they stayed exactly where they were.

Apelles cleared his throat. "Pardon me, sera, but...are you the quartermaster?"

The mer's eyes darted upward. "This isn't the legion, outlander. I'm a record-keeper, nothing more."

"Fair enough. I'll get right to the point then. My name is Apelles Velvus, and I'm going to be escorting the caravan tomorrow. I believe House Hlaalu has already ordered some provisions for my journey."

"Hmm...let's see...Velvus......." He flipped through the manifest. "Ah, yes. Here you are. Top row, third crate from the right. Happens to be right on top, with your name right on it. Lucky you. Uramulg - get him his supplies."

A large orc walked over to the crate in question, lifted the lid, hoisted the sack over his shoulder, and set it on the ground. Frankly, Apelles was surprised he didn't throw the thing at him.

As he walked away from the crates and opened the bag to view its contents, he became very glad that he didn't toss him the bag. For while most of it was pretty much what you'd expect - bread, meat, a canteen, some scrib jerky, and a sack of a hundred or so coins. But what caught his eye was something else entirely - an elegantly labeled glass bottle. He pulled it out of the sack and took a good look at the label.

It was a bottle of high-quality imported Cyrodilic Brandy - at least a thousand drakes a bottle.

Apelles wasn't a connoisseur by any means - he was more than happy to down the local swill. Greef, though not as good as the Imperial stuff, was at least a noble attempt at something resembling brandy. It got the job done and tasted alright, though he still preferred the Cyrodilic grape-derived variety.

But he knew the good stuff when he saw it - and this was the very best. Colovian, of course - all the best stuff is Colovian. Surilie and Sons, vintage 378. They had stopped making it about ten years ago and focused entirely on wine - a damned shame. It also made it more expensive.

For about a minute he just sat there, admiring the bottle. His trance was broken, however, when a stranger tapped him on the shoulder.

"What's that you got there?"

Apelles practically jumped out of his skin. He looked up to see a leather-faced Dunmer with red, penetrating eyes, clad in a full suit of chitin armor.

"That," Apelles replied, "is my bonus."

"Well," the Dunmer said dryly, "I hope you don't spend it all in one place."

"I don't intend to - this is the sort of thing you save for a very special occasion."

"That's certainly good news," he said. "I take it you're the Hlaalu who will be helping us escort the caravan?"

"That I am. The name's Apelles Velvus." He got up and extended his hand.

The muscular dark elf returned the gesture and gave a firm handshake. "Pleased to meet you, outlander. My name's Salms Ralas. I'm a Buoyant Armiger, and proud servant of Lord Vivec."

Apelles bowed his head slightly as a gesture of respect. "I appreciate your courtesy. I can assure you that I won't let you down."

"Hmm...I hope not. I assume you know the route?"

"Well, nobody's told me yet, but if I were to guess, I'd say we're going through the south gates of town, east to the Foyada Mamaea, and north up to Ghostgate. Though I wouldn't entirely discount taking the north road through Ald'ruhn. I know a few shortcuts through the rocks, cliffs, and foothills along that trail."

Salms paused for a moment. "Well, you certainly know your way around. But I don't think that's going to help you. No offense."

Just as Apelles was about to object to his statement, Salms raised his hand, signaling for him to let him finish. "Because the blunt and honest truth is that the situation is far worse than any of you could possibly imagine. The whole landscape is swarming with Dagoth Ur's abominations. They're attacking in groups. Setting ambushes. They've never done that before - not outside of Red Mountain. We lost twenty-four civilians and five Armigers out there during the last caravan. And there was one more - Thadas Rotheran - who came out of it...wrong. He was a gibbering wreck when we found him. He kept talking about - no...I won't repeat the things he said. They were all lies and delusions sent by the Sharmat...they had corrupted his mind.

"And it's been happening all the time. All the time. To everyone. No one is safe. I'm telling you this to warn you of what to expect. And also to warn you that the rest of the Buoyant Armigers won't be as kind to you as I have been. They would be resentful of any replacement of their beloved friends and comrades, but the fact that you're an outlander makes it worse for them. The truth is, I don't think much more of you than they do. The only real difference between me and them is that I am more polite."

Apelles just stood there for a few seconds, taking it all in. Then, finally, he spoke, his voice carrying a grave sense of seriousness. "I've...encountered ash monsters before. Not many of them - just a couple. Stalkers and ash slaves, mostly. And I've only had to fight them twice in my entire life - and when I did, it was from a safe distance. But I've seen and heard enough to know how...terrifying they are.

"We had four rules when it came to these things. One: if it doesn't see you, don't provoke it. Two: if you must fight it, never fight it alone. Three: never take on more than one at a time. And four: for gods' sake, don't let it touch you.

"If what you say is true, and they really have come out in numbers in the last few weeks, then I fear for the lives of you, me, and everybody in that caravan. I don't blame you for not believing I could be up to the task. This is more of a job for some kind of legendary godlike hero than it is for a mere man.

"You know, I might just open up that bottle of Colovian Brandy tonight. It could be the last chance I have to drink it. Care to join me?"

The Dunmer crossed his arms. "I'm not much of a drinker."

"A few sips couldn't kill you. Besides, I enjoy your company. It's no fun drinking alone. And I'd like to discuss this ambush business a bit more..."

This post has been edited by bbqplatypus: Jan 4 2009, 04:29 AM

[Dantrag]

Dralas, Balmora

Dralas grabbed his bag from the floor and pulled a shirt from it.

"That's all I've got," he said, tossing it to Rianne, "I figure it's worth a coin or two if you want it."

[Olen]

Rothan

Being close to the ashlanders was making Rothan feel uncomfortable. They were going through whatever rituals they did when they met which appeared to involve a shirt. He ordered some deep fried crispy hound and stood muttering about filthy heathens.

He looked around but it was almost as full as he had ever seen it. There were no free tables and no one he knew, the locals had probably all gone home. He spotted a lone dunmer sitting in the corner and.. carving. The mer turned the work and revealed it as a flute, the source of the sour noise earlier.

Rothan took his cup and pushed though the crowd to the corner table.

“Mind if I take a seat?”

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval, eight plates

"Mind if I take a seat?" Eno barely heard the man over the noise and first believed he had imagined it. When he looked up though, he saw that the priest from the bar earlier was standing by his table.
"Please, by all means. Be my guest." He replied, while waving at the other free chair with his scalpel.

"Quite the busy place, don't you think? It kind of makes me wonder how many here are the usual customers, and how many have been sent over here by that clerk at the Council house." He then said by way of small talk.
"Me, I belong to the latter group."

[Olen]

Rothan

Rothan took the seat. “Help yourself if you want meat, Dulena is quite a cook,” he put the plate between them, “So you're heading to the construction then? Good to see the faithful do the bidding of their gods. I'm Rothan, I'm based up at the temple.”

He took a drink of his wine and nodded at the flute which the other dunmer was carving, “Nice bit of work that. What brings you to the ghostfence?”

[minque]

Rianne, Balmora

Rianne smiled and grabbed the shirt, it was a bit big to her but of pretty good quality, it would be excellent! She took out a leather pouch and picked out some coins, she did not count them, just handed them over to Dralas, not showing what she was doing.

"I'm very grateful, and I thank you for this, here, it will hopefully cover your loss"

"I'll go over to the sign-up building now, before it's too late" she smiled" When reaching the door she stopped, she came to think of something..

Rianne went back to Dralas, handing him the pouch...

"Could you please rent a couple of rooms for the night for both of us? I think there's enough gold in that one to cover it. It would be awfully sweet of you, I gather you haven't got a room already?"

She turned around and went out of the bar.

The line in front of the sign-up building had diminished, so she decided to go for it now.

When it was her turn the man behind the counter didn't look up just asked:

"Name?"

Rianne De Zoete"

"Rianne De WHAT?"

"Ah nevermind, just Rianne then"

Then he looked up, seeing a woman in front of him caught him off gard, he just stared at her

"Ok is something wrong" she asked.

He shook his head and started filling in the necessary papers

"It's just that I never thought a woman would....But ok you know you'll have to bring two extra sacks with material, you don't have to pay for them but you're responsible for them during the trip..Btw what on Nirn can you contribute with?" He looked suspiciously at her

"I'm an alchemist, I have also healing skills, I'm sure they will need someone like me at Ghostgate" she answered dryly

The man sighed " I suppose you're right little lady" He handed the two sacks over and a receipt for her sign-up.

Rianne shook her head, smiled, shoved the sacks over her shoulder and headed back to Eight plates. She was glad she had that extra shirt it was becoming colder and colder.

"I wonder if he got us some rooms..."

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval

Eno waved the plate offered to him away.
"No thank you. I've already ordered so my meal should arrive soon. Still, I appreciate the gesture." he said as he carefully chipped a hole in the flute's shaft.
"And seeing how you have introduced yourself, it would be rude of me not to do likewise. I am Eno Arval, an instrument-maker from Ald-ruhn. A pleasure to meet you, sir. As for my business at Ghostgate, I'm afraid I would be lying if I said I'm only going to serve the Tribunal." He gave a wry grin.

"Well, I AM going because it is my duty to do my part in an undertaking like this project, but that's not the only reason. I am also going because it seems like a business-opportunity. Providing all the materials necessary for construction is meaningless if the builders refuse to work because they feel mistreated. Or in other words, bored. No offense, but the temple is not seen as a regular source of entertainment for most folk."

It was at this moment that the fried crab-meat he'd ordered arrived. After thanking the waiter, he set his plate next to Rothan's.
"Well, seeing how I've ordered a different meal, perhaps we could share after all? Add some variation of sorts. Anyway, back to my story. I am not claiming that music is or should be sole source of entertainment, but it is cheaper than such things as alcohol or...let's call them hired professional entertainers for now. It doesn't cause any hangovers either. The third reason why I'm going is a simple one. I am just incredibly fascinated by the thought of a fence, higher than a watchtower, encircling all of Red Mountain and powered by the willing spirits of our ancestors."

[bbqplatypus]

Apelles Velvus's Apartment, Balmora

"Personally," Apelles declared, pouring himself a glass of brandy, "I'd say that there's nothing in the world that I enjoy more than a glass of brandy in the evening."

"What about a woman to share it with?" Salms asked wryly.

Apelles laughed. "Believe me, I've been down that road before. Several times. A lot of fun, but it never ends well." He quickly poured a glass for Salms. "Haven't done it in a while - haven't really felt like it. I suspect I'll come around soon enough. I could probably tell you all kinds of stories. Then again, I don't think you're going to be here that long. Thanks for joining me, by the way."

"Well, I didn't come here to exchange pleasantries and drink myself silly," he said. "I'm here to discuss our duties as escorts."

"Yes. Yes, I know. I suppose, as our leader, it is your prerogative to make sure that I'm informed."

Salms's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "I never said I was in charge."

"I may be an outlander," Apelles replied, "but I am not a fool. No Armiger footsoldier would be interested in meeting or conversing with a foreigner such as myself. As you stated earlier, they are no doubt resentful of my presence. The only reason I can figure for you even talking to me is that, as the leader of this escort, you want to know more about my character and capabilities. I can't blame you - after all, lives are at stake here. Believe me, I've led plenty of expeditions myself. I'd be doing the exact same thing."

Salms grinned, conveying his satisfaction with the man's intelligence. "Can't get anything past you, can I?"

Apelles took a drink. "Not if I can help it. Now, let's talk about that caravan. We'll start with the boring details first. About how long is it going to take for us to get to Ghostgate?"

"Five days. Four, if we're lucky. This of course, assuming we aren't all killed on the way there."

"Hmm...that's about what I figured. I'm assuming you've cleared out Assarnatamat?"

"Yes, we're using it as a camp, in fact. We hope to get there by the end of the third day."

Apelles took another drink. "Alright. Sounds like a sensible travel plan. Now, tell me about those attacks. Just how bad are they going to be?"

Salms's expression turned dark and serious. "Well...they've only just recently begun in earnest. The first couple of caravans we had no trouble. The third one, though, was bad. We lost ten civilians on that one. They kept on sporadically after that. It's been troubling - you never know how many are going to end up coming to attack you. It's sporadic - there seems to be no pattern to them. We could encounter several or none at all.

"The last caravan was the worst. Dawn had just broken on the fifth day - it was just a couple hours before we would start to pack up our camp and head out. I was awake, looking to the horizon. Many of the caravaners were still asleep. Then, suddenly and without warning, an ash storm kicked in. That's when they started coming. There must have been at least fifteen of them - walking hulks of oozing flesh, tentacle-headed monsters in brightly-colored robes, ashen horrors without faces. It was the most ash monsters I had ever seen in one place. I saw them first - before even the men on watch duty were able to. But it was already too late. They may as well have materialized out of thin air with how little warning we had of their approach. It was like the ash had given birth to them.

"When it all was over, there were almost thirty dead - five of them comrades of mine. Several others were wounded, and Thadas Rotheran had gone mad with soul sickness. I had personally contracted the Ash Woe blight from battling one of the creatures. My mind was addled and no longer my own. I remember crying aloud, in my fleeting moments of lucidity, wondering why Vivec would allow this to happen to a loyal servant.

"We couldn't go anywhere with the storm still raging. We abandoned over a third of our supplies to carry the sick and the wounded. We were just over ten miles from Ghostgate when we were attacked. We didn't get there until three days later. The Temple was able to cure me, and I returned to sanity once more. I am thankful that I remember very little of those three days."

Apelles sat there quietly for a moment, finishing his drink. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, and finally spoke. "So...is this what I can expect guarding this caravan?"

"Possibly. Though frankly, I wouldn't be too surprised if we didn't encounter a single monster this time. But regardless of what happens, outlander, I want you to be prepared for the worst. Assume that we will be beset on all sides. Remain on guard at all times. I won't lose another man or mer under my command. I won't allow it. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good," Salms said. He rose from his chair, walked to the door, and left without another word.

Apelles stared at the vacant space where the Dunmer had been sitting. He noticed that he hadn't so much as touched his glass of brandy.

"Well..." Apelles muttered to no one in particular. "It'd be a shame to let this go to waste."

He downed it and put the cap back on the bottle. He knew better than to get drunk the night before setting off on a mission. Especially not on a job like this one.

This post has been edited by bbqplatypus: Jan 5 2009, 07:38 AM

[Olen]

Rothan

Rothan nodded, “Plenty are heading to the sites for worse reasons. Still its no bad thing, once it's built I dare say we'll have some new towns.” He took a bite of crab meat, “Cheers, I didn't realise she had any left.”

He looked across the bar, some patrons were becoming quite merry, “They're not going to enjoy tomorrows walk if they're coming. I've been on a couple of pilgrimages out that way, went up Foyada Mamaea on one even. Its a long way, especially with a caravan. And I hear its got bad up that way recently.”

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval

"Well, let's just hope they moderate their alcohol." Eno replied as he tried some hound meat and washed it away with some Mazte, thinking that Rothan was merely worried about hangovers. His next words however, suggested something else.
"wait, bad? Did you happen to hear some specific information? I do hope the path is still usable. We've had a lot of ashstorms lately, up north in Ald-ruhn. The wind usually blows from the east, so those same storms had passed over the foyada before hitting the city." He noted, slightly worried."

"I rarely travel, but I do know that wading through a layer of ash reaching up to your waist is not pleasant."

[Dantrag]

Dralas, Balmora

Once Rianne left, Dralas dumped the coins she'd given him back into the pouch. The shirt wasn't worth the gold she gave her, much less that and a room. He finished the rest of his meal and waved the clerk over.

"You have two rooms open?" he asked.

She nodded, "Twenty."

He counted out the correct amount and handed it over, getting two keys in return. Waiting for Rianne to come back, he put another wad of leaf in his mouth.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Jan 4 2009, 08:33 PM

[Olen]

Rothan

"There are rumours," said Rothan conspiratorially, “I hear the caravans have been meeting... resistance. The last one was a bit of a disaster, they say. I don't really know the details though, probably all hype from the rumour mill.”

He drained his cup, “I'm sure the path will still be fine... but...” he paused then went on anyway, “We're building a defence against the evil of Red Mountain. We've never needed that before, makes you wander just how bad things have gotten.”

He looked back into his cup, disappointed by its emptiness, “Still Lord Vivec will protect and provide. In his wisdom we trust.”

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval

"I suppose...if you put it like that, then yes, it wouldn't hurt to at least exercise some caution. Since we are building a fence to contain evil, it wouldn't be too much to imagine that some of that evil had already been set lose before that. But then again, the trail is one that has seen plenty of caravans by now. I'm quite sure we will see nothing beyond the occasional bad weather." He said. Still, he got the feeling as if one cup wasn't enough.
"I'm not aiming to become drunk, but half-drunk? I've never liked ashstorms and the thought of travelling in one makes shivers run down my spine." He thought and looked up towards the bar.
"Mind if I order a refill of our cups?"

[minque]

Rianne, back at Eight Plates

"You managed to fix us night quarters?" She smiled at Dralas when he gave her the key. "Great!!" she patted his shoulder in a playful way. "I'll have a last smoke then, no more drinks, it's better to get some nice sound sleep, it's going to be a long day tomorrow!"


"Good Night then" she then said before heading to her room

[Olen]

Rothan

"Thanks but no. I drink but I do not feel it's appropriate that I become drunk, I think I'll turn in. Thanks for the converation and good night," he said.

He got up and left into nighttime Balmora, it was dark and there was a chill in the wind. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and hurried back to the temple and his room to sleep.

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval, eight plates.

Though Rothan turned down his offer, Eno still ordered a refill for himself.
"Good night to you as well. I think I'll finish my meal and retire myself then."
He ate the leftover hound and crabmeat in silence, while observing the fact that apparently, the party was likely to continue till dawn.
"I don't think I'm going to catch a lot of sleep with all this ruckus. Oh well, I'll just have to try hard and plug my ears."

[Colonel Mustard]

Erna Rahnis, Balmora

"Your name sir?" the clerk asked, looking bored. It was evening by now, and the clerk had already done this a hundred times.

"Erna Rahnis," the dark elf replied, shifting his large coat to a more comfortable position.

"Profession?"

"I'm going to the ghostfence to sell some of my wares-I work as a merchant, you see," Erna replied.

"Good," the clerk said, scribbling something else down. "And there's one final requirement, Mr Rahnis."

"Of course, fire away," Erna said. "I'd be delighted to oblige."

The clerk gave him an odd look, before continuing.

"Everyone who travels to the ghostfence must also take a pack guar and two sacks of construction materials," the clerk said. "They will be handed in at the site. If the materials in the sacks are missing or damaged, you will be expected to provide compensation out of your own pocket."

"Of course," Erna said. "Anything else?"

"That's all," the clerk said, handing over the papers. He gave Erna a look that said 'Why are you still here? Can't you see I'm busy?'

Smiling vacantly as he tucked his papers into his coat, Erna resolved to get something to eat. He saw a sign for a tavern, proudly proclaiming it to be The Eight Plate-the finest food and drink in all of Tamriel.

It was a dissapointment inside, and Erna was tempted to do something to the innkeeper for being so cruel as to lie to him, but he decided against it.

He hurried towards a corner table, where two men, one of them wearing the brown robes of a priest and the other being, well, just old were sitting and discussing something.

He grabbed a vacant chair for the table next to them, where a pair of soldiers off duty appeared to be having an argument, plonked it down by the table, adopted a wide grin and asked; "Mind if I take a seat? I'm Erna, Erna Rahnis, and it's lovely to meet you both."


This post has been edited by The Bean: Jan 6 2009, 08:26 AM

[jack cloudy]

Eno Arval, eight plates. (OOC: You know you did something right when other characters describe yours as old )

Just when Rothan was leaving, someone else came in to take his place.
"Eno Arval, nice to meet you." Eno returned the greeting, while casting a wary look at the soldiers at the table next to them. He knew from experience that professional fighters, whether an unruly militia or highly disciplined professionals, turned into an unruly mob when either drunk or off-duty. And it looked like these two were both. A dangerous conversation.
"I hate to take my leave so soon, but it is getting rather late and I'd prefer to be out of sight before the bar brawl starts. So I'm going to make myself scarce now. I suggest you do likewise. Unless brawls are a hobby of yours." He then said with a wink and got up.

"Oh, and one more thing. If you happen to be one of those looking to join the caravan, make sure you've got everything you need to survive an ash storm. The weather has been downright awful lately. Well then, goodnight."


OOC: I hate to brush you off like that, but we'd just about wrapped up every conversation and had everyone go to sleep so we could get started with the day of departure.

Haz Andrethi, the river flowing through Balmora whose name I keep forgetting. Odai? Anyway, on the bank just out of town.

Haz wrapped himself up tightly in his robes and shivered. Despite its appearance of a scorched wasteland, Vvardenfell could become very cold at night.
"Kind of like the deserts in Hammerfell, if the stories are true." He thought as he absentmindedly scratched the itching skin of his wrists.
"I wonder how I'm going to do this. Pretend to be a Dunmer 24 hours a day, for who knows how many weeks? Bah, worrying gets me nowhere. I'll just have to make it work and fool those hideous creatures."

[bbqplatypus]

Apelles Velvus, Balmora

It was just under forty minutes after dawn. Apelles and the rest of the escorts were sitting near the gathering point just inside the south gate near the commercial district.

Apelles was fully dressed in his Dragonscale armor (though his helmet and shield currently lay at his side). His sword was sheathed and his trusty old bow was slung over his back. Everything had been repaired and restored to tip-top condition about a week ago - even his hunting knife. However things turned out for him in the end, no one could say he was not prepared.

He would not be alone, either. He was surrounded by escorts - the overwhelming majority of which were Buoyant Armigers, but with one or two independent mercenaries in the mix.

Salms Ralas stood up in front of the group and cleared his throat. The few who were talking fell silent.

"Good morning, servants of Vivec...and of other masters. In a few hours, we will be escorting a caravan of workers and supplies across the unforgiving wastes of our homeland. As you may know, there have been some...attacks on these caravans of late, and as a result the number of escorts has been increased to ensure safety. Thus, we will have a few new faces along for the ride. I am confident that each of these individuals will do their duty. And I expect each and every veteran escort to extend the same level of respect and courtesy to them as they would to a lifelong comrade. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," the crowd answered in unison.

"Good. That is all."

The Armiger captain walked into the small crowd and found a sizable stone to sit on - a stone that happened to be right next to where Apelles was sitting.

Salms looked at Apelles's armor with a faintly amused look on his face, but with sunken eyes that indicated that he had slept little. "That armor looks a bit heavy for your line of work, doesn't it?"

"It's a lot lighter than it looks," Apelles said.

"Well...I suppose you wouldn't have brought it along otherwise."

Apelles looked back at Salms. He seemed to be rather eager to be making conversation with an underling this early in the morning. Perhaps he figured it was a good way to pass the time. Or maybe he wanted to do something to get the trauma of the last caravan off his mind. Whatever the reason, Apelles was happy to oblige him for the next few hours - at least until the caravaners had all arrived.

[canis216]

Dranas Heleran, Balmora

Dranas was up at the crack of dawn. It took just a few brief moments to collect his clothing (which was scattered about) and dress, taking care not to wake Tarese. He hated to leave her to wake alone, but her face was so lovely in the low light of morning that he could not bring himself to wake her. Instead he scribbled a brief note:

"My dear, I am sorry to leave so early but I have urgent matters to attend to before the caravan leaves for the Ashlands. I shall return to you at my first opportunity. I promise."

That formality out of the way, Dranas walked over to the South Wall. Outside he found one of his associates, Durius Carbo.

"Morning," he murmured. "You said something about two guar loads?"

Dranas extracted a sheet of parchment from his pocket and handed it over. "Rent on the two guars sets us back 70 drakes, but we'll more than make it up on the extra volume. You have the goods?"

Carbo tossed over a key. "The usual crate. Think you can move all of it?"

Dranas looked thoughtful. "Temple project, so there might be more teetotalers than the usual construction job, but from my experience, I don't see it being a real problem. The booze should move just fine. The harder stuff is always hit or miss, so we'll just have to see, won't we?"

* * *

Dranas secured his pack guars and his cargo, both illicit and otherwise. He checked his personal gear--his cuirass in good order, his sword pristine--and was satisfied. It was only about forty minutes after dawn. He would lead his pack stock to the South Gate and then perhaps (he thought) go to the Eight Plates or maybe the Lucky Lockup for breakfast.