<strong>Kafka: Zaine, Bellona</strong><br/><br/>They were stopped at the gatehouse before the bridge proper, separate from the rest of the castle. "Halt, travelers!" One of the sentries called down from the parapets. "Who goes there, and why at this hour?"<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Shadow Plane: Tristeria, Aikaterine, Astaroth, Ms. S</strong><br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Ah now Ms. S. Do hyu hef contractors for us to use or musht ve find our own? It can all be done in goot time my dear."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>Ms S nodded. "Indeed, people matching your specifications have been found across the planes. I can gather them to the destination that you designate and hand over responsibility for them to you when you give the word. Be warned though that while they have agreed to grant you at least an audience, they have not all already agreed to work for you and you may have to persuade some of them."<br/><br/><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote">Quote</div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"And what happens if we decide not to tread on the ground at all?  You know, flight, teleportation, burrowing, or whatever other ways might exist to just bypass you altogether.  Would there be any consequences to forcing our way past your little roadblock without paying you?"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br/>"You cannot bypass shadow," was the woman's simple reply, neither boasting or threatening, but stated as factually as, for example, 'water is wet'. "And if you try to force your way past me, the wrath of my master shall visit you."<br/><br/>Ms S chipped in helpfully. "I can't confirm or deny whether there's any substance behind this threat - the toll is so insignificant, though, nobody I know rich or powerful enough to travel via shadow has ever risked finding out."<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Urban World: Alaxos</strong><br/><br/>The scholar's apprentice was amiable to Alaxos's mental commands and provided him with all she knew - which was quite a fair bit, not all of which would be relevant, depending on what else he was planning to do.<br/><br/>