Solo Gathering Supplies

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Syka is a new settlement of primarily humans on the east coast of Falyndar opposite of Riverfall on The Suvan Sea. [Syka Codex]

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Gathering Supplies

Postby Kame on October 6th, 2016, 1:25 am

Fall Third
Syka Mercantile


ImageThe Syka Mercantile or the common goods shop, as Kame liked to call it as she couldn't really pronounce the official name in Common tongue, was not far from her rented bungalow. This settlement only had a few standing buildings, even less that had occupations or were in use so it was not very difficult to find. Besides the Founder that greeted the Myrian upon arrival gave her a good explanation of the few important buildings.

The place was much like the bungalows, raised and open made of thatch and light wood just like the rest of everything here. It was so obviously taken directly from the forest, but of course that made perfect sense. Use the environment to your advantage, and they had done so.

The walk from Kame's chosen bungalow (the farthest one from the actual 'city' center) to the common goods shop was only a few minutes along the beach. There were currently no pathways or cobbled roads, as expected. Though there was a good track forming in the dirt of the grassy upper beach from those living in the bungalows to the most popular building in the settlement.

When she entered the mercantile she was greeted with the bored face of a young woman about Kame's age. This human was paler than she with long, flowing brown hair and slenderness that moved like a fish, wriggling through the waves. The woman immediately perked up at the settlers appearance, apparently having been bored due to lack of activity prior to Kame's arrival.

She stood behind a small counter and surrounding her lining the walls of the building were lifted and titled boxes full of common goods for sale. The Myrian had a specific list of needs and so she set of right away to the walls, searching for the first item. She did not really want to talk to the woman but soon she was left with no choice.

"Hello!" The young woman cheered as she entered, Kame simply gave a polite nod before returning to her search. The girl skipped over to the huntress' side, looking over her shoulder at the goods Kame was peering at herself. What was she so interested in? Surely she knew her own wares? Kame moved on to the next set of goods, leaving the woman slightly behind.

The girl followed and then spoke again, "What are ya looking for?" Kame sighed inwardly. She had only been here for one day as the first day she spent talking with Founders and renting and unpacking her bungalow. The second day, today, she was focused on supplying herself and perhaps getting a better lay of the land.

Turning to the woman she tried to put on a polite face. The humans were already starting to get on Kame's nerves but she had to constantly remind herself that surviving in this place meant complacency, at least for now. She spoke in Common, slowly and thoughtfully, searching for the correct words. "Quill, ink, dish... and pot." Her accent was noticeable. Her request though was simple and the supplies seemed common enough. Kame knew most rarer items would not be found easily. A place like this relied mostly on the settlers actions. This was something she really liked about Syka. Kame was a very big supporter of 'do it yourself'.
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Gathering Supplies

Postby Kame on October 6th, 2016, 1:36 am

Syka Mercantile

Image
"Well that's easy enough!"
The woman grinned at Kame and turned skipping away to the other wall of the store. The buyer reluctantly followed and found herself then standing side by side with the human looking down into a small box filled with shiny feathers of all colors. "Quills!" The woman exclaimed in a strange excitement.

Kame picked one up, plucking it from its soft bed of feathers. This one was larger than some, though each was slightly different in size, and black. She preferred larger, less easy to lose, Kame reasoned. She also did not much like bright colors, hence the choice of black. "Made of what?" Kame asked. This was obviously part of an animal, like most quills of course. But because of that there was the possibility of malediction. It was best if the mage knew as much about the animal it belonged to as possible.

The woman looked at Kame in a stunned silence for a second before she spoke softy and in a confused tone, "..Bird feathers?" stating the obvious. Kame almost laughed if she did not find the woman's response so innately human. Instead she just looked at her, waiting and hoping the girl figured it out on her own. After a good few silent ticks a light lit up the girls face. "Oh! You mean type of bird. Of course! Yeah... I remember Randal saying the black ones were Toucan. Weird bird the Toucan."

Toucan. Kame had seen many in her life in Falyndar, but she did not know much about them. "What part of bird?" She asked the woman. If Kame knew where the feather originated and the purpose it held it would be easier to maledict it.

"I have no idea. I just know the bird. Randal killed them. You could ask him! Uta might know too, though she's more of a plant gal so I'm not sure."
Randal was a name Kame recognized as one of the Founders of Syka. She had met him, a big tan man, very built and with dark hair. He was rather good looking and seemed at least a little like he fit in this place. More in character than the other two pale, old Founders for sure. Uta was not a name she recognized. Seemed feminine and Kame knew the three Founders were male. She had not met any other females besides this one in front of her, to which she assumed the girl was not talking about herself in the third person.

Kame was about to ask about this woman, but the human beat her to the next question, "Ok then you said... dishes!" She turned immediately, skipping over to another side of the wall. This wall was filled with stacked plates and bowls, pots and utensils. The girl pointed to a small selection of clay dishes and then to the iron cooking pots. "There ya go! I think that was it, yeah?"

Kame glanced over the clay pieces. Yes these would work. The plates came in many different sizes but Kame was all by herself and rather simple. She chose a 5 inch one, the smallest and figured that would do. Next to the plates she saw bowls. She was not planning on getting a bowl, but honestly she did not really think about it. If she wanted stew or soup she would need a bowl... So she picked up an 8 ounce bowl as well, stacking it on top of the plate and placing the quill inside. Then she turned to the woman again. No there was still something missing. "Ink." She stated simply.

"Oh right. Forgot about that one. We don't have that actually. But Uta might! Ink's made from plants right? Definitely go see her about it." This Uta woman again. Clearly Syka did not have many people to go around. However Kame did not mind that one bit. But she would definitely need to know who this woman was and where she was going to find her. If the Maledictor wanted to do any magic she would need ink to plan it out in her journal.

"Who is Uta?" Kame questioned.

"Oh have you not met Uta? Right, father told me you just arrived yesterday. I guess you might not know her yet. Anyway she the botanist of Syka, a gorgeous Konti woman. She built her own little bungalow hut a little ways out. Shouldn't be too hard to find. If you continue going west," The girl pointed, "away from thr bungalows, you'll pass the pools. Uta's place is directly after that. You can't miss it." Her directions seemed easy enough. Kame listened closely. A Konti, very interesting. The Myrian had never met one, but she saw one in passing once in Taloba. They were gorgeous, but dangerously pale. She had asked her elders about them and they told her about their all female race. It was extraordinarily interesting. Kame could easily respect an all female race.
Last edited by Kame on October 7th, 2016, 1:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Gathering Supplies

Postby Kame on October 6th, 2016, 1:48 am

Syka Mercantile

ImageThe young woman skipped back over to the counter. Kame followed, carefully placing the dishes and quill into her backpack. She then grabbed a gallon cooking pot as well, letting it hang on her wrist. "That'll be 3 Silver Mizas and 7 Copper." Pretty cheap. Kame appreciated that. She dug out the coins from her backpack, counted them out then placed them on the counter in front of the woman. She immediately picked them up and recounted them herself before placing them somewhere underneath.

"Thanks for coming in! Your name is Kame right? Father told me about you. I'm Juli by the way. James Chaliva is my dad if you didn't know. I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more of you!"
Ah the young woman was one of the Founder's daughters. That made sense. Kame wondered how a girl so young as her found her way here. Kame was from Falyndar so it wasn't much of a stretch for herself.

"Good to meet, Juli." Kame politely said back before turning and exiting the mercantile.

..................................................................................... Syka

At this point she still needed ink and was now headed to Uta's place. The girl said west... away from the bungalows. So Kame would need to continue down the beach away from her rented home. As she walked the clay dishes rattled against each other and Kame hoped they wouldn't break in there. She tried to walk carefully and hold onto her back at her side to stabilize it.

Just like the walk from her home to the common goods shop, the walk from there to Uta's place was not long at all. She noticed when she passed the baths, steam was rising and she thought she heard someone speaking. Ignoring them Kame continued on until she saw another bungalow of sorts. That must be it. It was certainly an interesting house. It was raised and suspended over a small river. Unique Kame thought, she was already impressed.

............................................................ Uta's Place

She walked up to what she thought was the entrance, but since the hut was built almost completely open to the air it was difficult to tell. She stopped at the threshold, unsure if she could just walk right in. This place looked more like a home than a business. Peering inside she saw the Konti Juli spoke of. She was working busily over a counter, her back to the doorway. The woman was immediately different than anything she had ever seen, that is besides the one Konti Kame had seen before. In fact the two looked so similar that Kame wondered if they were perhaps the same person. The only difference she could immediately see was that this Konti had short hair and half of it was dyed brown, while the other Konti had very long and completely white hair.

While she was staring the Konti turned around, noticing the Myrian in the entrance. "Oh! Hello there. You must be new around here, haven't seen you yet." She began walking across the room, waving her hand, beckoning the visitor inside.

Stepping in Kame noticed the woman's face. It was sharp, but friendly, a trait Kame began to think everyone held in this settlement. Useful. There were also iridescent scales littering her face and arms... That was strange. Looking around the hut she saw bright colored cushions dotting the floor and roughly made furniture. Everywhere were plants; in pots, in jars, hanging from the ceiling to dry. One counter, the one Uta was previously working on, was plastered with plants and their detached parts.

"Yes, I am new. Came yesterday. I am Kame - You are Uta?" She spoke with respect. Offering a piece of herself, her name, before requesting the Konti's. Granted Kame already knew the woman's name, but it was still a sign of respect to become vulnerable first.

"Ah, Kame. Good to meet you. Yes I am indeed Uta. Now I have a feeling you didn't come here just for introductions. What can I help you with?" Smart. Her admiration for the woman was growing. Unlike humans, the Konti were respected more initially. Because of their matriarchal culture, similar to the Myrians, and the fact that they breed true. Well it was mesmerizing.
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Gathering Supplies

Postby Kame on October 10th, 2016, 7:59 pm

Uta's Place

Image

"Ah... Juli? Said you have ink. Writing ink?"
Kame stated, unsure of herself. Looking around she didn't see anything that looks like wares, or anything produced. It simply looked like the woman had a forest in her home and nothing else besides the colored cushions. The woman at the Mercantile said she thought ink was made of plants, but Kame had never seen a black plant, so how could it?

Kame's resolve about the situation only continued to dim as the Konti's face contorted into a confused furl. "Well," She began, "I dont have any ink to sell. No." Her face, though, suddenly brightened, "But I can show you how to make it!" She turned then, back to her counter she was working at before, beckoning the Myrian in more to join her at the crafting station.

Kame followed, slightly interested now. She enjoyed learning and seeing how she knew she would need ink in this settlement and there was no place to buy it, it would certainly be useful to make it herself instead. The counter, as she got closer, was busier than she thought before. Uta herself had been making notes, similar to what Kame does with her Malediction. She admired that, the mage thought such an act meant true dedication to her chosen craft. The Konti was just getting better and better. It was nice to have found someone worthy here in this place.

As Kame approached Uta closed her notebook and began to clear a space, a small one, on the rough wooden countertop. Then she reached over and grabbed the unlit lantern from the corner of the counter. A lantern? Why would they need a lantern? It was still very bright outside, it was probably not even midday yet. Confused, Kame watched closely. The lantern was a large one and as the Myrian looked around she saw two more dotting the abode. Just as she was looking, Uta moved and gathered up those ones at well, placing them next to each other on the counter.

"See all this black here?" Uta asked Kame, pointing to the glass of the lantern that had accumulated ash. Yes, the lanterns were well used. Unlike Kame's brand new lanterns in her own bungalow, she had only used them once, last night, her first night here. They had not been lit long enough to form any black gunk on the glass sides yet. Kame suspected the Konti would spend late nights at her counter, researching, plus the fact the Konti has been in Syka much longer than herself. The lanterns had plenty of time to gather filth.

Kame nodded at the question and the Konti continued. "It is called 'lampblack' and is formed when an oily substance, like the whale oil that fuels the flame, is burned. The glass surrounds the flame and so collects this lampblack, otherwise it would be lost into the air." Uta then carefully pulled the glass covering off the lamp and placed it aside so the wick was free to the air. She took her flint and steel and started to light the wick. Once it was in full flame the Konti grabbed a metal spoon that was lying to the side and began instruction again. "See the flame now? Its burning just fine. But look at this." The Konti put the spoon over the flame. At its contact a dark trail of smoke formed and after a good few ticks Uta removed the spoon and showed it to Kame. "See that black there?" Yes it was small and she probably wouldn't have noticed the smudge if it wasn't being pointed out, but there it was, a small bit of black residue had formed on the spoon. "That's lampblack. Takes a while to form in good amounts, but this is how I make ink." Very interesting.

With Kame watching Uta removed the other two glass coverings from the other lamps and moved the wicks aside. She put down the metal spoon and grabbed a wooden one, "So it wont leave scratches on the glass." Uta stated as she began to scrape the lampblack from the glass. As she got small spoonfuls she dropped it into a medium clay bowl, forming a good pile of black ash.

It took a few chimes to clean out the lanterns and at the last one Uta handed Kame the spoon and let her fish the lampblack out. She did so, careful to not break the glass if she pressed too hard, and scraped with the edge of the spoon, gathering the residue and placing it into the clay bowl. Once she was done the bowl had perhaps 3 ounces or so of lampblack.
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Gathering Supplies

Postby Kame on October 19th, 2016, 7:13 pm

Image
But it was just a weird, gloppy, powder. How was this ink? Kame was about to ask when Uta grabbed the bowl and placed it in front of her. "Now for the liquid part." She stated simply, grabbing her waterskin. Opening it she poured some water into the bowl of lampblack. It swirled, instantly darkening and staining the sides of the red clay bowl. She took the metal spoon once more and dipped it into the rough mixture, stabbing at the pile of sticky powder in the middle, breaking it up and stirring it into the water around it. Every few moments she picked up the waterskin once more and added a few more drops of water until the consistency was what she wanted.

Kame watched, very interested in the process. If this was all that was needed to be done, ink would be very very simple to make. Plus for one person this amount of ink would last a long time. Certainly long enough for Kame to build up lampblack of her own in her new lamps back in the bungalow. "Start with only a little water. That way you can add more if needed. If you put too much water in to start, you might not have enough extra lampblack to ratio it if you watered it down too much. Then you will have just wasted it." Uta explained. Such advice was almost a given, but Kame had to thank her for explicitly mentioning it. Who knew if Kame would have thought of that next time?

The Konti spent a little bit more time stirring, making sure the clumps were all out and the water well mixed and darkened. Then she skipped around her bungalow for a moment, leaving Kame staring behind her, before coming back with a small glass vial. She opened the vial and handed it to Kame. "Hold this very still." She commanded. Kame did as she was told, grasping the tiny thing with both hands and rooting herself to the table by her elbows so her free hands would not shake. As she did so Uta picked up the bowl of ink and carefully poured it into the vial. It filled it up, almost to the brim. For a moment Kame thought it might overflow, but Uta was better than that. Once it was full Kame handed it back to Uta who corked it and gave it back.

"I have plenty of vials, so I'll let you keep this one. But next time I might charge you extra." She smiled playfully, gesturing to the Myrians brand new supply of black ink. "Works just the same as any ink you'll ever use. When it run out, just refill it if you have enough lampblack."

At that Kame bowed her head gratefully at the woman. "You are wise, Uta. Thank you for this." Uta nodded her head at the compliment and invited Kame back whenever she needed anything. Kame let herself out of the bungalow, holding the vial in her hand, afraid it would break in her backpack, and headed home, having finished her errands for the day.
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Gathering Supplies

Postby Gossamer on April 2nd, 2017, 4:08 am



The Fates Have Spoken
Here is your thread grade!


Character: Kame
Experience Awarded: Observation +3, Philtering +1
Lores Awarded: Syka: Where to Shop, Uta: Konti Botanist, Location: Uta's Place, Location: Syka Mercantile, Philtering: Making Lampblacking Ink



Notes: I enjoyed your thread layouts and the way you wrote the NPCs. Thanks for giving them a little life. :)

As always PM me if you have issues.


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