Closed Attending to one's duties [Scarab]

[Bethsyliss]

Day 81 of Winter, 512 AV. Bethsyliss was struck with a recollection of her past life. "Don't dawdle," father used to say when I hung around idly about the nessst, she thought, her father's voice clearly echoing within the vaults of her mind. "Attend to your dutiesss. Nothing is more rewarding." My only duty had alwaysss been to mother as a youngling. Now that I'm grown, other duties await. There's a reason I'm here in Ahnatep, and I'm not going to accomplisssh much by roaming around the streetsss. I'm going to need to meet people if I'm ever going to ssstrike the right relationshipsss. I should enter the active life of Ahnatep. It's only reasonable I do, four days into my arrival in the city. I should get myssself a job. Besidesss, I'll need the income to cover the ssseasonal expensesss. But where to begin? she thought, frowning then. I can't get involved in political life jussst yet -- I don't know anyone and I don't know anything about the way local politicsss work. Maybe I should try and get a job involving other Dhani -- it'sss a good place to ssstart, since vipers always ssstick out for each other. Also, I'm going to have to make a name for myself among the Dhani if I want to achieve my goalsss. Dhani relish in poisons: a poison shop ssshouldn't be too hard to find. And maybe they'll even let me use some of the concoctionsss for free... Bethsyliss set out early in the morning to search the streets of Ahnatep. The city had barely woken up, and it seemed the roads themselves were only starting to awaken from a deep slumber. Slightly anxious, for the silence of dawn caused most men to worry, she moved carefully about, her heart missing a beat at every turn as it picked up the pace as if to fight the heavy surrounding stillness with its eager drumming. So it was that the sight of a large group of people huddling around a tent after she turned a dark corner in the Pavilion came to her as both a surprise and a relief. She was not expecting so big a congregation -- especially considering the fact that it made hardly any noise, even in the morning silence. Bethsyliss's hearing in human form was not as acute as it was when she was a snake, and she felt slightly ashamed for not having been able to detect that crowd with her ears. She approached the hushed tent and looked at a sign. It read: The Serpent's Elixirs. Bethsyliss gently nudged her way through the people waiting outside peeked into the tent, moving the flap of cloth covering the entrance away. Doing so she immediately released a wave of mirthful laughter from the inside of the tent. The place was packed with people joyfully chatting with each other while sipping rather attractive-looking concoctions of different colors -- some of which she found herself unable to name. "Get in line," a thin person with a droning voice Bethsyliss immediately identified as a Dhani ordered, snatching the tent flap from her hand to bar the entrance. "In line?" Bethsyliss asked, sounding confused. Sssurely this motley-coloured cluster of silent people isn't a line, she said to herself, beginning to come to grips with the nature of the place. What kind of an unsavoury ssshop is this? "What do you think those people are doing out in the cold? Wait for your turn at the back of the line." Bethsyliss wasn't here to drink, though. She wanted to know if any jobs were available at this location, and she needed to know now, so that she could resume her search or start working immediately. The situation was pressing, and great was the urge to be part of the city's bustling social life. "Excuse me," she said politely. "I'm not here as a cussstomer." The shopkeeper looked startled. "You're a viper?" He obviously noticed the lisp in the last word she pronounced, and his attitude changed immediately. "Sssorry, I'm quite busy, I wasn't paying attention. I've never ssseen you before. What can I do you for?" He seemed mildly intrigued for some reason. Bethsyliss was pleased at the effect her lineage caused on the people of her race. "That's all right," she smiled. "I passsed by to check if there were any offers of employment at your ssshop. I'm new to Ahnatep, and I need a job." The shopkeeper frowned and narrowed his eyes, boring his serpent pupils into Bethsyliss's face. "That smile... What'sss your name?" "Bethsyliss. I'm from the nessst." "The daughter of Vvesebeth?" he gasped, his mouth agape with amazement. "Yesss, that's me." "Well, you're a ssspecial one," he whispered wistfully, wonder apparent in his hissing voice. His eyes became distant for a moment, unfocusing and focusing back on the golden streak her left eyebrow bore as his mind wandered about memories long past. Then he regained his composure. "Lisssten, Syliss, I haven't got any jobsss for you at the moment, but Ssahnya could use a hand at The Scorched Ssskull. Tell her Rasken sendsss you." "Thank you, Rasssken. Where do I find The Ssscorched Skull?" "Pillars of Dussst. It's a crumbling building with a purple doorknob. Try to find it on your own, though. If you asssk around, that might send the wrong messsage acrosss." "I appreciate your advice, Rasssken. Thank you." "Oh, and by the way," the short Dhani man said, almost as an afterthought, his eyes imperceptibly softening in the morning twilight. "Sssend my regards to your mother." Bethsyliss smiled a wry little grin. "I will, Rasssken. Farewell." And so it was that Bethsyliss, on Rasken's recommendation, took to the Pillars of Dust, the area where she lived. She floundered about for a bit, not finding the purple doorknob she was to look for, frustrated at the fact that, as she's been told, it was best not ask anyone for directions. After a couple of hours, she finally found it in a backward alley. The ninth bell sounded when she knocked at the cracked wooden door and entered The Scorched Skull. "I'm looking for Ssahnya."