[Job Thread] Confessor, the Daggerhand Choice

[Slenta]

3rd of Fall. 1st Bell.

An assortment of jars filled with salt water and a few oceanic sea creatures before her from the previous day's excursions, Slenta decided it was time to begin her work. Within the jars were several species of possibly poisonous sea creatures. The only information she had to go off of is that they were dangerous to touch or eat.

Between the Ooze, Mollusk, and Spadetail, Slenta decided she would start with the Sunberthian Spadetail, she knew it would be first to perish, which is why she chose to begin with the sea creatures as opposed to the blue sea weed and moss she had acquired. She wanted to learn about the fish, to glean as much knowledge about it as she can before even attempting to create a poison from it.

She began by closing her eyes. She would use her divination to first learn about this creature's life. She took in a deep breath, and relaxed. She soon began to feel her mind slip into the Chavena.

Her mind was filled with countless colors. She had to navigate them to find the chavi she was after. First, she began by focusing in on the creature's past, in particular the hours before it had been caught. She glimpsed images of it feeding upon moss, possibly poisonous. She couldn't be sure. She continued deeper, looking at more and more chavi. Eventually, she gleaned information about how the fish defended itself. There were barbs at the end of the tail, they were leaking venom. She didn't want to spend too long in the chavi, as fascinating as it were. She began to pull out, tugging on her mind to try and slip out of the Chavena.

She exhaled sharply as her mind returned to present. She knew a few more things about this fish now. However, she still had more work to do. She moved on to the Aquatic Ooze. Oozes weren't her expertise, but it was an aquatic creature. She decided to repeat the same process with the Ooze, anyways. It would be a hit or miss if she could make anything from it.

She relaxed, entering the Chavena. When she returned, she gleamed some information about the Ooze's dietary habits. It fed on excrement, and dead things. Not surprising, for a bottom feeder. She could not find any chavi of the Ooze being attacked by fish, most seemed to avoid it.

She then turned to the mollusk. The mollusk was a large salt water snail with a spiraling white and brown shell, as far as she could tell. She shut her eyes and began to relax. She entered the Chavena and began to pry the snail of any secrets it might hold. After a few moments of examining the chavi, she determined the snail hadn't really done much with it's life. It crawled around on the sea floor in search of food, or hid underneath rocks.

She pulled herself from the Chavena for the final time. She had about as much information as she could get from these creatures using her divination. It was time to kill them and piece them apart. She began by twisting the lid off of the jar that contained the Spadetail. It used the last of it's strength to thrash the water about, afraid of her. Slenta kept the lid hovering over the fish in case it tried to escape.

Then, she retrieved the Suvai from her pocket, and brought it up above the table. She moved the lid away and then began to stab downward into the jar repeatedly with her weapon, not really accurate enough to hit the fish unless she kept trying. After several stabbing motions, and water splashing everywhere, she managed to prick the fish in the side with the Suvai. It struggled meekly before going limp, falling victim to the weapon's poison.

She pulled a tray over to herself from the other side of the table. She picked up the fish by the gills using her Suvai, and threw it down onto the tray. There, she stabbed it through the head to make sure it was dead. Slenta then took a cheap cloth and washed the tip of the Suvai. She wanted to keep it clean.

She put away her Suvai, taking out her knife and beginning to piece the fish apart, piece by piece. First, she cut off the head, then the tail and fins. She then began to skew the fish through the center to get at it's stomach. When every part of the fish lay about in a bloody mess on the tray, Slenta grinned devilishly at her success.

Slenta decided she would blend the fish's stomach and tail together. Some sort of fine and devilish poison should come of that, she decided. She grabbed the cloth she had cleaned her Suvai with and picked up the bloody pieces of fin, tail, and stomach. She dropped them into a beaker, and then set the beaker into an iron holding rod above her brazier.

[Slenta]

She then retrieved a book that she had purchased with her lab. It instructed her on how to use the equipment as she was still a novice. She needed a reminder, so she flipped the pages until she reached the page describing how to use the brazier. 'Place tinder into the brazier, then use flint and a piece of metal to light the fire with sparks.' Fairly simple.

She also flipped through the pages for information concerning the chemical process she had previously skimmed over, calcination and assation. She found the information fairly quicly, and confirmed her suspicions on how to accomplish these processes. 'Without contact to the flame, place to substance over the lit brazier. Stones may be crushed beforehand, and it will take less time to calcinate a substance that is made of flesh.' Then, assation. 'Semi-solid substances are placed in a glass vessel and raised over hot ashes or coals.' Slenta hoped to accomplish purifying the poison in this fish by doing so.

Making sure her brazier's coals were still pure enough to burn, she set a few crushed pieces of dried grass into the brazier, and took a piece of flint and some steel. She smashed them together several times above the brazier, creating some sparks. The sparks caught onto the tinder, catching the brazier aflame.

As the flames began to leap and dance, Slenta adjusted the iron holding rod to the right height. It would not be long before the process of assation she was aiming for was accomplished.

Smoke quickly began to fill up the room, and knowing full well from previous blunders, Slenta immediately stood and went to open the window. Her room might smell of fish a bit after this. If anyone asked any questions, she would likely tell them she was cooking fish.

After several minutes of heating the beaker through calcination, Slenta doused the flames partly with small amounts of salt water. The coals within were still heated, and a fierce warmth emitted from it. Thus begins to process of assation.

She opens up the book and begins to read. The process for assation was supposed to take up to a bell or longer. Kind of like how Akalak sometimes slow roast a Zith. Through reading the book, she began to touch up on her philtering skills. She read through assation and calcination, careful to memorize these concepts. She then went on to read about the rest of her equipment, and the finer points of the process of distillation. She shut the book nearly a bell later, a bit enlightened. It was time to practice the art of distillation.

But first, she had to grind up the contents of the beaker she had just assated into a dry, fishy mass of dry, black substance. She picked up her mortar and pestle off the table, and emptied the warm contents of the beaker into the bowl. She then began to grind it down fervently. After several minutes of grinding, she dumped the finely ground black fish powder into the beaker once more. She then filled the beaker with salt water from the jar, and corked it. Picking up the beaker, she shook it up to dissolve the powder into the water. Hopefully her clients enjoy their poison shaken, not stirred.

She emptied the beaker into her alembic, and connected a coiled glass tube from her alembic to a clean beaker. Slenta put a small amount of kindling on the brazier to make the flames a bit more lively, and then set the alembic above the brazier.

Slenta's eyes were affixed to the alembic, taking in all of the processes that were at work. She watched as the salty, poisonous liquid began to boil. Eventually, vapors began to rise from the liquid, rising up into the coiled tube. There, the vapors condensed and formed into small droplets.

Her finished product began to drip down into the connected beaker, droplets of brownish-black poison. She could only guess as to what the poison would do, but her client probably wouldn't mind testing it for her.

By the time the distillation process was finished, Slenta began to grow tired. She had been awake all afternoon yesterday, and all morning today. The sun was already beginning to rise. She had to wake up nice and late to sell this poison and view the results.

Slenta detached the beaker and poured the results into a small vial, very carefully. She then corked the vial. She peered at the contents with wonder before setting the vial aside. Now she had to clean up.

She cleaned everything to the best of her ability, but she would have to wash out the glassware at a later time. The barkeep charged her an arm and a leg for using water in that fashion. Setting everything back in place, and scraping whatever is left of the butchered fish on the tray into a jar, she was finished.

Then, she lay down upon her bed, and shut her eyes.

[Slenta]

[size=22]Twelve Bells Later, as the Sun Sets[/center]
As always, Slenta had a rough sleep. There had been a drunk outside her door asleep the entire day, keeping her awake due to her 'sixth sense' which she attributed to all of her sleeping problems. She really should see about getting some medicine to knock her out...

Slenta rose, getting to her feet and peering out her window. It was already dark out, and the liveliness of the markets had died down, giving way to a busy pub below her feet. She donned her Akajian Robes, and swiped up the poison she had made in the morning, dropping it into one of her pockets. It was the same pocket she kept her Suvai. Slenta grumbled mildly, deciding that she would have to do something about that drunk outside her door.

Locking the door to the room behind her, she silently tiptoed to the sleeping drunk. Then, she was upon him. She leaped upon the drunk, trying to pin him down as she shook him into consciousness, drawing her Suvai and pressing it against his neck. "I'm sick and tired of you piece of Shyke, worthless drunk! For the past three days I have had to deal with you." His eyes widened, as he realized what was going on. "Wha- ger' away, whore!" He grumbled, sputtering rancid breath in Slenta's face.

Slenta had met her wits end with the man, and as soon as he began to move she cut the man's breast with her Suvai. He fell limp after a short struggle. He was still alive, but the poison from her Suvai had incapacitated him. She grabbed the drunkard by his collar, and proceeded to drag the man towards the stairs.

He was heavy, but Slenta was determined. She dragged him, walking backwards down the hall. When she reached the end towards the stairs, she could see a few of the bar's patrons at the end of the stairs. Bringing the drunk to the edge, she heaved and threw the unconscious man down the stairs. He rolled down, possibly breaking a few bones, but not his neck.

A lifeless body being thrown down the stairs did little to disturb the jovial attitude of the bar. In fact, when Slenta began to descend the stairs, with a fierce expression upon her face, the act enticed the crowd to yell, whistle and woo at her, causing even more of an uproar. A man at the bottom of the stairs even began to clap at her. "Don't wanna feel your wrath, pretty lady!" He laughed, downing a mug of ale.

It was something that she would never quite get accustomed to, but was still getting better at. Everyone here would go to no end to try and impress her, to try and bed her. She had no interest in such foolishness, however. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she clutched her Suvai to show that she meant business, otherwise they would try to fondle her as she passed. Sailors were animals.

She managed to leave the tavern without further incident. She then clung to the shadows as she navigated her way through the darkened marketplace. She saw some men standing around at the docks, and didn't want to catch their attention as she moved to the alley where she did business.

After a few minutes of walking, and hopefully not being spotted, Slenta arrived at her alleyway. She noticed a man standing in the shadows where she usually sat to await customers. He was trying to look shady, but he was doing a bad job at it. Slenta surmised it must be the Daggerhand that she had received the request from.

"I have the medicine." She called to the man, standing at the edge of the alleyway. She didn't want to get too close in case it might be a trap. She didn't have much of a reputation yet, but one could never be too sure.

The man stepped forward. "Ye' do? Gud'. If ye' migh' be wonderin' why I be here early-like, I can' go back withou' the meds for the sickly 'un." Slenta nodded, that sounded like what one of the restrictions Robern's men would receive.

"Payment?" Slenta questioned.

"Ye' get the goods when Teyga' at the dung'n is sure ye' didn' filch our deal." The man responded.

"Then I am going with you. I shall supervise the administering of the poison." Slenta added.

"Eh, I guess'o, ye' wanna ger' to tha' hell 'ole? Be my gues'. I don' go pas' da' door. Ye' can follow me, they shoul' le' ye' in." He turned around and began to walk. "Stay close pre'e thin'. Lotta' thugs 'n such this time'a night."

"I know." Slenta said to the thug. She didn't bother to ask his name, only an actual member of the Daggerhands would probably want to know the name of a lackey. Slenta just had to be on her guard, and be weary of the man attempting to double-cross her. She gripped the pommel of her Suvai harshly. It was time to visit the Daggerhand Prison.

The Daggerhand thug began to lead her through the dark alleyways of Sunberth. He was pretty good at it. He was better at sneaking around than he was at speaking, as were many of Sunberths residents. After several minutes of walking, he stopped at an intersection. "Be 'ery kai'et. Nigh' 'uns like te' ambush ye' up here."

Slenta nodded, and prepared to walk as quietly as she could in her robes. Her padded shoes made this easier. She crept through the alley, following closely behind the Daggerhand lackey. There were no lights in this alley, they just had to settle for not being noticed in the dark.

They made it through okay, possibly by blind luck, or because nobody was there at that moment. Slenta couldn't be sure. In either case, they made their way to the prison fairly quickly. It was only another thirty minutes or so before they arrived. Thugs with torches stood around on this road. Robern's mansion on one side, the entrance to the dark pit they called a prison on the other.

It was well defended, Slenta assumed the Daggerhands didn't want thieves or Night Eyes to break in and overhear anything important. She drew stares as she passed, possibly because she was a new face, or simply due to her being female. In either case, she put on a creepy smile as best she could. She would rather them be weary of her, than think they would try anything.

She knew little of the Daggerhands, very little about them is spoken of out of fear. Slenta noticed the ominous dead bodies hung by their feet in front of Robern's mansion. Enemies of the Daggerhand. The reputation of that is why she opted to support the Daggerhands by selling to them instead of the Night Eyes.

She knew she had to be very careful in the coming hours. One misplaced word could cost Slenta her life. She took this to heart as the thug began to lead her to the entrance of the underground torture chamber the Daggerhands called a prison. At least she was getting paid for this.. If her poison worked.

[Slenta]

"This lady 'ere 'as some goods fer' Teygar." The thug said to a guard at the door. "Take 'er in fer' me 'ould 'ya?" He then turned around and began to leave as Slenta watched.

"Oh no you don't, Talic!" The guard said firmly. "You have to take her down there yourself, orders followed to the letter, right?" He then laughed as the frozen Talic turned around with a scared expression.

"Agh! I'm not gonna 'ike this 'un bit! Last 'ime I been down 'der they cut me ear off see?" He pulled up his matted hair, sure enough his right ear was missing. The guard simply chuckled at him.

"You deserved it. No Daggerhand'd ever piss on Robern's grass, or talk with a prisoner without orders. Now get in there and see the lady to Teygar." Despite the two arguing, Slenta had silently listened. She didn't want to get involved, but couldn't help but feel a little bit unnerved by the discussion they had just had. This Teygar was a ruthless man...

To make matters worse, the guard retrieved a strip of cloth from his pocket. "Blindfold her, don't want her to go and give away who we have and where, do we?" Talic nodded in response, taking the bandana from the guard's hands. Slenta lowered her cowl, and raised her hair to allow the man to blindfold her. He wrapped it around her head, pulling it over her eyes and wrapping it tightly around before tying it off.

She could feel herself being frisked, hands moving into her pockets, and beneath her clothing. The hands moved over her breast and she grimaced, but they soon passed. This man was not strictly a pervert like most. "What is this?" The guard asked, pulling out her Suvai. "A dagger, don't poke yourself with it. Poisoned." She answered. "I'll hang onto it until you are done here, if you don't mind. Don't want you turning on us. You may pass."

The guard stepped aside, and the reluctant thug began to descend the dark, barely-lit stairs with Slenta in tow. His hand was on her wrist, to keep her close and hold her in case she falls due to not being able to see where the steps are. "Steps 'ere m'lady." He said.

As she finished arriving at the bottom of the stairs, her ears were assaulted with screams of terror, cries, and moaning as she traveled down several dark, dank corridors lined with prison cells. After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at their destination. She could feel the presence of a few unconscious humans in the area.

"Take the blindfold off!" A gruff voice ordered. Slenta could feel hands fumble around her head, gripping the blindfold and pulling it downward. The thug was silent, not speaking unless spoken to by his superior. "Do you have the poison?" The voice asked. "Yes." Slenta answered. She couldn't quite make out the features of the man in front of her, but she assumed it to be Teygar.

"What does it do?" He asked.

"I am not entirely sure. But there is only enough for a single dose. I would advise applying it to a blade, one of your torture weapons. I can guarantee it is especially vile," Slenta answered. "If it is unsatisfactory, I do not require payment." She added.

"Then follow me." The man said. Slenta was ushered along through the corridor, following the tall man as they approached an intersection within the prison. He quickly took a right, and then turned left into a dark cell. Slenta stood just outside of it as she heard the sound of a weapon being dragged against metal. A man with a torch moved ahead of her, to light up the dark room.

Slenta could see that within the room was a prisoner. A burly Akalak with black hair and a short beard. He was covered in scars and fresh wounds. Evidently they were torturing him. She also had a chance to get a good look at whom she assumed was Teygar. She dare not ask any questions, however, for fear of angering him.

In the hand of whom she assumed to be Teygar was a sword, with a long, slender, slightly curved blade. It was fairly ornate. "This is his weapon. After you poison the blade, cut him with it." He ordered. He outstretched his fist, and dropped it into her hands as she held them out. The blade fell against her skin, cutting into her wrist. She winced sharply, and gripped the blade's handle with her other hand as she wiped the blood away against her clothing, though the cut still bled.

She began to look it over, retrieving her the vial of poison with her bleeding hand. As everyone's eyes were upon her, she popped the cork of the vial and began to pour it upon one side of the blade. With the top of her nails she began to rub it into the metal, applying it thoroughly. When she was finished, she nodded. Teygar stepped aside to give her access to the prisoner.

"A fine weapon." She commented, admiring the ornate craftsmanship.

[Slenta]

The prisoner began to speak, trying to roll out some words across his tongue. "A.. Ka..tana. Fine.. Weapon." He groaned.

Slenta did not hesitate. She knew the men around her would slay her if she showed any signs of betrayal. She held the sword up, shakily adjusting her grip before stepping forward and piercing the Akalak's skin with his own sword. He winced as the blade pierced his leathery skin.

"Now, for the poison to set in." Slenta commented. It actually started to work surprisingly fast. The Akalak began to show signs of labored breathing. Pain was starting to flood his mind.

"Arghn!" He grunted. "Shyke.. That hurts." Slenta stepped aside just in time for a Daggerhand to step forward with a dagger. He shoved it into the Akalak's chest, earning a scream from the poisoned Akalak. Slenta could tell that the poison was intensifying the pain the Akalak could feel. A fairly useful poison. Additionally, the skin around the wound that Slenta had inflicted was heavily inflamed. Blood still leaked from the long gash.

Daggerhand's men proceeded to interrogate the Akalak, knowing that he now had a weakness for them to exploit. Slenta stepped back towards the hall, looking to her captor for approval as screams filled the air.

"Effective." The burly man said. "I suppose we discuss payment now. I am Teygar." There it was, recognition for her efforts and the name of the man she had been itching to get for the past few minutes.

"Two hundred Gold Mizas for that dose." Slenta offered.

"Hah! For that little poison? One fifty!" Teygar responded. Slenta didn't expect to be haggled with.

"I will meet you in the middle. One seventy-five." She countered. She wouldn't push the subject if Teygar haggled with her further. It would be too risky, she was already pushing it by haggling with such a dangerous man.

"Ehh.. Fine. You have a deal. If you let me name the poison." Teygar said. "We are keeping the sword." Slenta handed the sword back to Teygar, and he pinched it away from her with two fingers, the blade's grip moving quickly to his hands before moving to his side, pointing at a slight angle towards the ground as it rested by his side.

Slenta nodded to seal the deal. "What would you name it?" She asked.

Teygar grumbled for a moment, picking his brains for the perfect name. "Confessor." Well, it wasn't the most imaginative name, but it fit well.

"Very well. The poison will be called... 'Confessor'." Slenta said. Teygar's hand vanished into his pocket, and he retrieved a bag of coin. He picked out a good sum from the bag before tossing it to the ground by Slenta's feet.

"If I need more Confessor, or another type of poison, I will send a man to contact you." Teygar said. Then, he turned and walked off. Slenta was relieved, now that she was through the worst of her encounter, she had to make it out of here alive.

"Blindfold 'er." Talic said after she finished stowing away the bag. Soon enough, she was blindfolded in much the same way she had been blindfolded prior. Then, two men including Talic began to lead her out of the dungeons. "'At went well, girl. 'E mus' 'ike 'ye to not 'eave ya' with a scar." Talic commented. Slenta did not respond.

Slenta found herself ascending the stairs she had used to enter this shyke hole. She could feel the breeze upon her face and hair as she now stood outside, a hand removing her blindfold. She breathed a sigh of relief as the guard gave her a dirty look, handing the Suvai she had given up prior back to her. She placed it in her pocket, where it belonged.

"I'd take ye' back to the docks if ye' wish, girl." Talic offered. Slenta looked at him for a moment, studying him. Hopefully this wasn't a ploy to steal her Mizas.

She reluctantly agreed. "Sure, would be great to have you guide me back. Always need a good, strong Daggerhand to protect me from all of those scary things in the dark." Her voice carried a hint of sarcasm. "Let us leave immediately." She began to walk in the direction they had reached the prison from.

Talic ran ahead of her. "Heh, m'lady you're coy ter'day." He began to lead her home. Slenta was relieved nothing had gone wrong tonight in Sunberth, but she knew not to push her luck. She could quickly lose her life with one false move. Trusting Talic was a great risk, but at least the Daggerhands followed orders, and right now Talic's orders were not to harm her.

Following Talic, Slenta navigated alleyways for the next half hour. Together they avoided groups of prying eyes, clinging to the shadows. Sunberth was a great place to stay hidden if you knew how, though Slenta was only just beginning to learn more than the basics.

After a half hour, Slenta found herself home. She nodded to Talic, who waved a goodbye before running off into the shadows.

OOC: Confessor- A brownish-black liquid that smells of rotten fish, made from the poisonous barb, fins, and stomach of the Sunberth Spadetail. L2 Poisoncrafting, L1 Philtering to create. Effects caused through injury. Causes the victim's flesh to be sensitive to pain as well as swelling and dryness to the affected area for up to four hours.