Completed Unknown Stars

[Amolina]

~ Amolina Moletta ~ Timestamp: 35th of Summer 513 AV Amolina Moletta had been thinking of Marie-Paulette Ascontine’s plays all the day. The text, the lines the words! They made dreams and visions come alive. Mental pictures of beauty and unfathomable mystery opened like paintings in her mind, longing to be set in motion. “Marie-Paulette”. She whispered the name silently in her mind. The soft pleasant breeze from Lake Ravok carried it away, as soundlessly as it had been whispered. Never would Amolina know who the unknown author had been, what had happened to her, or how her plays had ended up in Ravok, in the shop named Odds and Ends. And always would she wonder. Oh, all the things she could do with these plays, if she only had the money for it! If she only could afford it she would - she hardly knew what she thought she would do, but a feeling of inspiration and creation welled up from invisible sources within her, filled her, flooded her and drenched her, where she walked in the dusk. Her dark violet dress rustled softly, and her dark brown hair, gathered with a ribbon at the left front side of her neck and resting over her left shoulder, moved slightly in the breeze. The whole town was like a magic dream around her, a genial dream and nightmare alike. It spread out before her in the evening, like a painting of unbearable beauty, with it’s darkness, lanterns, bridges over canals, water, distant sounds and pleasant evening air. And high above, the stars were glittering on the darkening sky. Amolina took it all in, and words moved in her thoughts like unknown beings deep down in dark waters. It was whispers and shouts, lines she longed to give life on the stage, if there had been a stage for her to do it on. Oh, if only, if only, if only, oh if only ! Two laughing girls passed by, chatting with each other while they disappeared along the walkway the sound of their voices fading out. She met a silent man with the looks of an Ebonstryfer and without even thinking of it she moved to the side, out of his way, leaving room for him to pass. He went away along the walkway without looking at her, turned around a corner and was gone. She had been on her way home to the apartment she rented in an NHC complex near The Nitrozian Plaza. But seeing the unknown ebonstryfer pass by had left her feeling somewhat disturbed and not keen on going home to the silence in her room. Walking on, feeling less exalted now, she saw the door of the The Silver Sliver open. A golden flood of light spilled out from the common room inside, and mixed with the smaller lights of the lanterns on the ourdoors tables. She heard voices, laughter … Amolina changed her plans for the evening. Instead of going home, she walked over to the tavern, went between the small outdoors tables with a view towards the canal, and stepped trough the door. The tavern was full of people, as if often was. After looking around briefly she sauntered trough the common room with it’s tables and small stage, to stand at the large bar along the back wall.

[Dafyd Snowsong]

Dafyd had had enough. The Silver Sliver Tavern had to be the worst in all of Ravok—nay, all of Mizahar. The stench of unwashed fishermen was pervasive, as if they hauled their prey into the tavern every night. Upon spotting some men carrying tied up sack cloths to their tables, Dafyd thought that might even be the case. Even worse than the smell to the bard was the cacophony of sounds that filled the common room, boisterous conversations and raucous laughter. It was so much that he felt the walls might burst at any moment from the pressure. Of those who could hear, none paid attention to his songs except to interrupt with obnoxious off key attempts to sing along. Yet the worst of it all: the barmaids were ugly. There was one that was passing acceptable, but she scowled so often Dafyd could not help but wonder if her face had stuck that way. This was certainly not Avanthal. The Vantha respected art and culture. When a musician played, people quieted and listened. Everything Dafyd had heard about Ravok led him to believe it would be the same. He was proven wrong on his first day in the city. Every day since had pounded the lesson even deeper, and he had still only been in Ravok five days. Despite this, Dafyd couldn’t bring himself to stop playing here. Part of it was his pride as a bard. How could he turn down the challenge of enchanting such a crowd with his music? He had once watched his father and mother still an entire market with their song, so masterfully crafted to tug on emotions. So far Dafyd had failed spectacularly in trying to duplicate their efforts. Another part of what kept him coming was his desire to be close to and understand the people of Ravok. The Ravokians were not Vantha, and Dafyd was trying to discover how he could fit in with these people. Lastly, and most importantly, Dafyd got paid. A few gold mizas for as many hours of playing and singing… how could he pass that up? And so Dafyd sat on a chair on the small stage in the Silver Sliver, playing a tune that few could hear and singing a song just enough on key so no one would complain. It was a common tavern song he heard on his second day in Ravok, not that anyone cared. It had something to do with fishing, drowning, and evil gods. Dafyd continued playing and singing until his throat was dry, his fingers numb, and sweat rolled down his face. He finished his last song in exhaustion, bowed to no one in particular, and sauntered off the stage. He approached the bar with his lute slung around his back. He noted a particularly attractive brunette in a dark violet gown and made sure to stand next to her at the counter. “Ugly as ever, Jeb,” Dafyd nodded to the bartender. “I heard today you got that scar from a knife fight with a Pycon. Is that true?” The middle-aged man growled. A large scar ran vertically down his face, making his ugly features even uglier. “Wasn’t a Pycon,” Jeb replied in a rough voice to match his features. “Was a Kelvic bear. Fought with the cleverness of a man and the strength of five.” Jeb dropped two gold mizas on the counter before Dafyd. “That’s it?” Dafyd frowned. Jeb shrugged, placing a mug in front of the bard. Dafyd peered over the counter into its contents. The light reflected on a shiny silver surface. The Silver Sliver for which the tavern was named was worth a miza itself, but Dafyd still felt like he had been cheated. He grumbled, pocketing the coins and started to drink the rest of his payment, while eyeing the brunette out of the corner of his eye.

[Amolina]

“Well, well, well, Molly. A glass of lemonade, I’m sure.” Jeb, the barkeep had deliberately kept her waiting and pretended to not see her, despite she had been there first. But now he turned to Amolina. The disapproval in his voice was obvious. “Jeb …” The ugly scar on the barkeep’s face seemed to point accusingly at her. He put a sturdy glass on the counter in front of her and grabbed a small bottle. He was going to give her lemonade, either she wanted it or not. Just like he called her Molly, either she wanted it or not. Amolina just watched silently. It was no idea to try to argue with him. But she didn’t care. She wasn’t there for the drinks. “You ought to lead a decent life Molly” Jeb said patronizingly. “Find a normal job instead of this bawdy nonsense you are doing. Settle down. Stop fluttering around to no avail.You know what I mean.” Amolina took her glass. She didn't try to pay. Jeb would just say it was on him. She didn't want to give him a chance to say it. Instead she glanced at the man that had been playing and singing on the tavern’s stage. Most of it had been impossible to hear through the noise…but she had seen him do it. Obviously he was done now and Jeb had paid him for the entertainment. He was overhearing the conversation…She didn’t say anything but gave him an apologetic smile. “Jeb is always like this” she said. “Don’t pay any heed to him.” A bottle came down on the counter...not with a slam, because Jeb was utterly careful with the content of the bar and wouldn’t take risks with it. But the small knock managed to sound annoyed. “There was a fellow asking questions about you, a while ago. He tried to bribe me. Nice and talkative man...or so he tried to be. I took the mizas and told him I don’t know you much, but I think you’re just another silly woman with idiotic ideas.” Jeb paused while Amolina looked at him again, paying heed to every word now. “That’s what happens because you are strutting around on theatre stages. That fellow said things I’m not going to repeat, but I sure didn’t like the way he spoke about you like you were some…” “I’m not strutting around on stages. I’m acting. Theatre is art. “ She didn’t answer the rest of what he had said, though it made her feel worried. Jeb would get even worse if she showed she was worried, so she acted unmoved. “Stop it Jeb. You’re not my father.” The bartender just shrugged. He wasn't going to change his opinion, that was obvious. Amolina glanced at the man with the lute again. A bard? She was going to try to strike up a conversation with him in order to avoid more words of wisdom from Jeb. Pretending to not care about the bartender and what he said, she smiled at the bard. “Are you performing here every evening?”

[Amolina]

As the bard didn’t answer Amolina guessed his day had been a hard day and he was feeling tired. It can be tough to perform for an audience that can’t be bothered to care about it, she knew. Well. There was nothing she could do for the man, bar give him a pat on the shoulder and tell him to not give up. While she finished her drink she thought about her plans for the rest of the evening, the new day tomorrow, plans for other days in the near future and longer term. Ravok was a city full of interesting things, at least to Amolina…despite having grown up in the city she was discovering new things now and then. This Summer had so far been busy and full of surprises and new insights. Not only had she gotten a deeper look at KRI and what was going on in the research there. She had discovered Gaius Alzelin’s experimentations with Vipocarine, on a human, and…skipping over the details she thought of how she had also very briefly been sent away to work as a spy, for totally obscure purposes that had never been explained to her. And she had seen a wizard at work in his lab. Oh and there had been the dream and the fortune – albeit she didn’t know yet how this would affect her life she thought about it now and then. Then there had been the complications with her lingering illness and the antidote, and finally she had managed to purchase a promising pile of plays, and she had started to look around for auditions … This evening was pretty calm though. Jeb took her empty glass away while she walked over the floor and out through the door, heading home to her NHC apartment. There was a day tomorrow too … ~ End ~

[Abstract]

Grade Awarded!

Amonila

Skills

~ Observation - 1

Lores

N/A

Other

N/A

Notes

Sorry, little to give! Enjoy the observation though

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