Completed A Nudge in the Right Direction

(This is a thread from Mizahar's fantasy role playing forums. Why don't you register today? This message is not shown when you are logged in. Come roleplay with us, it's fun!)

A city floating in the center of a lake, Ravok is a place of dark beauty, romance and culture. Behind it all though is the presence of Rhysol, God of Evil and Betrayal. The city is controlled by The Black Sun, a religious organization devoted to Rhysol. [Lore]

A Nudge in the Right Direction

Postby Rook on January 21st, 2018, 5:54 am

Image



Rook
Winter 45, 517
Ravok- Docks District

The sun blazed down on the docks, scouring the wood and the water with its harsh glare. Ravokians rushed about in their usual tireless and insistent way, shoving past slaves and noblemen alike with hardly more than a glance. Rook glanced drearily at the sky and felt the sun scorch his cheeks. He’d been out here for three bells already, three miserable, sweltering, sweaty bells. Absentmindedly, he pulled a lock of hair off of his forehead and brought it in front of his eyes. He was relieved to see his hair was still ginger. He’d half expected it to have been scorched black.

On reflex, Rook ducked under the carelessly cast out hand of a rushing merchant, narrowly managing to avoid being clothes lined and dropped into the drink. He glared at the man’s fast retreating back, but the merchant was far too occupied in his task to pay attention to the annoyed kelvic slave. Rook sighed. He was hot, miserable, tired, and no closer to achieving his goal than he was when he had set out hours earlier.

Ruby’s scale had broken. This was a major cause for concern, as Ruby used the scale in order to measure quantities of herbs and spices for her customers. Without an assurance on the weight of materials, they could wind up shorting a customer on product, or giving more to a customer than they had paid for. The delima was, at least, not desperately urgent. The most popular of products sold were pre packaged into bags already measured and ready for sale, and Ruby had enough to last through the rest of the day. However, Ruby had made it very clear that a replacement scale needed to be found before the end of the day. Rook had not yet proven himself trustworthy enough with customers to mind the shop by himself, and, so said Ruby, what was the point of having two people in a shop if you couldn’t send one of them to run errands? So Ruby had bundled Rook off with enough coins for a scale, as well as a little something extra for Rook to have lunch with along the way.

Except Rook had made a grave error. He’d had perhaps a bit too hardy of a lunch, and had spent much of his money on a pound of fresh raw fish. Ruby wasn’t a bad cook or anything, and she fed Rook well enough, but he didn’t have a lot of opportunities to make his own decisions in regards to what went into his stomach, and he had charged the opportunity with a ravenous ferocity. He had swallowed the fish in a few bites, bones and all, with an intensity that had shocked and horrified the poor fisherman selling to him. Rook had happily paid the two golden mizas for his treat. After all, how much could a scale possibly cost?

Well, as it turned out, more than two gold mizas. He couldn’t find a single person who would sell a scale to him with the money he had left. And he’d been trying, through three heat stroked, miserable bells.
Rook
Last edited by Rook on March 1st, 2018, 7:41 pm, edited 3 times in total.
ImageImage Elias Caldera
User avatar
Rook
Ever Watchful
 
Posts: 145
Words: 120230
Joined roleplay: January 14th, 2018, 4:26 am
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Medals: 1
Donor (1)

A Nudge in the Right Direction

Postby Rook on January 26th, 2018, 4:44 am

Image

Somberly, Rook stared at the two golden mizas resting between his fingertips. Unless he could barter someone down to that price, he’d have to go back to his master empty handed. And he was NOT looking forward to having to explain to her his poor decision making skills when it came between serving his master, and feeding his stomach.

He could hear the lecture already… ‘Rook, you ate an ENTIRE pound of fish???’. At which point he’d say, ‘Yes Ruby I was very hungry, please allow me to explain,’ and she wouldn’t let him explain and would instead scold him and send him to do some awful chore like scraping moss off the store’s roof then give him the silent treatment for days. Yes, he’d very much like to avoid that.


Sighing bitterly, Rook glanced at the sun. The savage thing was lowering itself in the sky. By the next bell the whole sky would be red. Another bell after that and there wouldn’t be much light left. Rook really couldn’t afford to waste any more time than he already had. He wanted to be done before dark. He was wary of the streets during the unpredictable nighttime, and besides, if he got home before dinner he might be fed again. He doubted his chances at dinner if he came home empty handed.

Rook turned his intense copper gaze on a line of shops dotting the edge of the waterline. He peered up at shop names, puzzling his way through the letters that were still unfamiliar to him, and peeked into shop windows for a quick glance at the displayed merchandise. Frustrated, the kelvic pushed forward, deeper into the docks district. Finally, he paused in front of a store, his keen dark eyes shining with interest.

The store had no windows or displays, and wasn’t particularly astonishing to look at. It was dwarfed on either side by much larger buildings, and was humble to look at comparatively. It was the smell of the place that drew Rook closer. The place was a positive banquet of scents. Granted, a half-hazard ramshackle banquet, but a fascinating one nonetheless. Rook could smell glass, wood, leather, metal, parchment and mothballs. Strange, all these fascinating smells packed so closely together. The only indication that the building was a shop was a small wooden sign with a five letter word on it. Rook peered at it carefully. “Tine’s” was what it said. The word meant nothing to him, but the scent had piqued Rook’s curiosity too much to be ignored. Even if there wasn’t a scale inside, Rook had to take a look. Nose twitching, Rook stepped inside.

The door creaked loudly as it swung inwards, causing Rook to flinch. It was just as loud as any door bell! A gust of air smelling of mothballs, rotten wood, rose incense, and leather struck Rook in the face. He opened his mouth and breathed in the strange and conflicting scents. The store, for all its stink, had been dressed elegantly to appear as regal as possible. Bright tapestries hung on the wall, accenting piles of...well...junk?
Rook
Last edited by Rook on February 17th, 2018, 1:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
ImageImage Elias Caldera
User avatar
Rook
Ever Watchful
 
Posts: 145
Words: 120230
Joined roleplay: January 14th, 2018, 4:26 am
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Medals: 1
Donor (1)

A Nudge in the Right Direction

Postby Rook on January 26th, 2018, 6:51 pm

Image


It seemed the store was filled with all manner of items, in every shape or size one could imagine. Brightly colored, dully colored, and every color in between. Glass, wood, leather. Rook approached a stack of masks decorated like forest creatures, then tensed as he heard a voice from behind him. The kelvic spun around to see a man watching him, eyes gleaming in the dim light. He was a short, flabby, and rotten tooth man. He reminded Rook a bit of a walking wart. “Ahhh,” said the man. “Welcome to my game. Would you like to play?”

Rook frowned at the man. Game? Play? He was on very serious business here, he certainly had no need to ‘play’. Rook’s instincts twitched. Already the man was eyeballing his sharp teeth and his unusual colored hair. No doubt, the word ‘slave’ was being screamed emphatically in his head. Rook couldn’t risk telling the man what he wanted directly; that was how he had failed all of those times before. So instead, he said: “Your shop looks interesting, I just thought I’d just come in and browse for a bit.”

The man shrugged his strange, misshapen shoulders. “Most are able to find what they’re looking for here.” He grinned at Rook toothily. He reminded Rook of a forest hawk eyeballing a rat. It was setting his predator senses on edge. Rook turned away from the man and instead eyeballed the piles of stuff. Already he had spotted a scale, sitting on what looked like a pile of folded clothes. It gleamed cheerfully in the dim lamp light. Rook didn’t allow his eyes to rest on it for more than a heartbeat before his eyes roamed elsewhere. He finally settled on an hourglass resting atop a cracked wooden tabletop. Delicately, Rook lifted the object and flipped it over. He watched with intense interest as the grains of sand gently hissed through the opening and dropped into compartment below.

“Mind you, you break it you buy it,” said the merchant voice from behind Rook’s shoulder, making him jump so hard he nearly dropped the hourglass. Irritability, Rook set the hourglass back on the table and turned to glare at the man. A waft of rotten breath drifted from between the man’s cracked lips and made Rook cringe in disgust. “Also mind you, I don’t take well to window shoppers here either,” the man added. If anything, his cold smile had gotten colder. “Find something to buy, or get out.”

Rook stiffened his shoulders and turned his intense eyes on the man. Did this flabby, rotten man really think he could intimidate him? “How am I to know if I want to buy something if I’m not allowed to look?” Rook took a step towards the man, till they were nearly nose-to-nose. The putrid scent of the man’s breath made Rook’s eyes water, but he held fast. Rook held the man’s gaze, and gradually the mechant’s gaze began to waver slightly.“I think I will stay here and look for a while yet. I am the only person here. I see no customers who I am monopolizing your time with.” The tension hung taut between the pair. Rook was the one to finally cut it. He turned away from the man with a flourish and returned back to studying the piles of junk. Rook heard a tangible ‘tsk' from behind him. “Fine,” the man growled. “Just see to it that you don’t waste my time.”
Rook
Last edited by Rook on February 17th, 2018, 1:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
ImageImage Elias Caldera
User avatar
Rook
Ever Watchful
 
Posts: 145
Words: 120230
Joined roleplay: January 14th, 2018, 4:26 am
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Medals: 1
Donor (1)

A Nudge in the Right Direction

Postby Rook on February 17th, 2018, 1:39 am

Image

Rook studied a set of silver dice, bound in a soft bag. He removed them from the bag and gently turned them round in his hand as though studying them from every angle. From behind him, Rook could hear the man breathing and feel his eyes boring into the back of his head. Mindful of thievery, no doubt. Rook openly counted the dice, piece by piece and replaced them back in the bag, careful to allow the merchant to see his every move. The last thing he needed was to be accused of thievery.

Finally, Rook had made his way to the scales. He paused in front of them and tilted his head as though fascinated. Gently he compressed one finger against the scale and allowed his eyebrows to raise as though he were surprised by the movement of the object.“What is this?” Rook said over his shoulder.]“Some kind of toy? Surely my master would find this a grand plaything.” One thing Rook knew about kelvics was that humans were always happy to underestimate them. “It can be whatever you want it to be sir,” said the merchant wheezed, words sickly sweet. There. That was his foothold. He could work with this.

Rook turned away from the shopkeeper and back towards the scale. He could feel the man’s beady eyes staring at him in the back of the head. Did this man really have nothing else to do? Or was he really so convinced that kelvics were thieves? Rook thoughtfully fingered his coin pouch as he leaned towards the scales once more, making sure that the coins clinked as he touched them. Make sure the man knew that he had money on him; he’d be less likely to be thrown out that way. After gently compressing his finger against the scale, Rook turned back towards the shopkeeper. His eyes focused carefully on the man’s beady gaze. Another waft of rancid breath teased Rook’s nose.

“At what price do toys like this go for?” Rook asked the man. Behind the rotten teeth and pristine clothing, Rook could see conniving eyes doing calculations on exactly how much he could swindle from Rook. “I believe that three gold mizas should be more than enough for an object such as this,” wheezed the businessman. Rook allowed a confused an uneasy expression to cross his features. “Three gold mizas? Surely...no, I understand.” Rook looked sadly at his coin pouch, then turned away from the set of scales and moved on to a set of strange robes stacked in a corner.

Rook wasted the man’s time. Utterly and completely. He was, in part, pushing the ‘game’ as far as he could in his favor so he could get the damned scale for a price he could afford. But the kelvic was also annoyed. He detested the way every single shopkeeper he came across followed him and stared him down. How was anyone supposed to get what they needed when they were regarded so harshly? What could lead people to think him a suspect of thievery? Why was everyone so intent on figuring out a way to extract every last miza from him?
Rook
ImageImage Elias Caldera
User avatar
Rook
Ever Watchful
 
Posts: 145
Words: 120230
Joined roleplay: January 14th, 2018, 4:26 am
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Medals: 1
Donor (1)

A Nudge in the Right Direction

Postby Rook on February 17th, 2018, 2:08 am

Image

It wasn’t this way with Ruby. He had accompanied her on various outings before, and shopkeepers were friendly and cordial with her. What made him different from Ruby? Was it because Rook was a kelvic, and a slave? He still didn’t entirely understand, all he knew was that it irritated him. So, he strung the shopkeeper along and in the process watched as the man grew more and more agitated, enjoying the man’s irritation. Finally, when Rook sensed that he was reaching the point where the shopkeeper was moments from throwing him out on the street, Rook returned back to the set of scales.

He paused in front of the scales, gazing at them as if they were an afterthought. “I really do think my master would like this,” Rook said, making sure sadness creased his features. “But I simply cannot afford three mizas.” Rook turned away from the scale and heard the shopkeeper growl from behind his back. “Then what exactly can you afford, boy?” This was a tricky moment for Rook. He looked at the man’s tense face. Should he tell the truth here, or allow himself to be bargained up? Rook decided to take a risk. “I only have two gold mizas with me,” Rook told him. The shopkeeper heaved a sigh as though shouldering a great burden. “Very well then. I suppose I could allow it to go for the price of two gold mizas.” Rook resisted the urge to cheer. Instead, he allowed an excited expression to form on his features. “That would be wonderful! Thank you kind sir.” The man’s expression soured, but Rook kept his expression blankly cheerful as the man went through the exchange of money and packed his scale into a bag. Through his fake smile, all Rook could think was ‘thank you miserable bastard for wasting both of our time’.

Rook thanked the shopkeeper for entirely longer than was necessary, and finally found himself shooed from the shop. He stepped out of the claustrophobic confines and breathed in the familiar, damp evening air. Rook allowed him to feel slightly smug. He deserved it. He didn’t suppose he’d gotten a particularly good deal on the thing. But he hadn’t gotten swindled, so that was a start. And he had managed to complete the task Ruby had given him, which was really all that mattered in the long run. Red light spilled from the horizon and painted the cobblestones red. Content, Rook headed down the footpath of the canal. It would be dinnertime at home soon, and his daily wanderings had left him ravenous. The kelvic had no intention of missing his supper.

A cry of voices drifted from a shop somewhere down the end of the street, and Rook felt the hairs on his neck stand on end. He watched as a young human was torn out of a nearby shop by a guard and forced onto her knees. Rook could have heard the words spoken if he had wanted to, but he didn’t protest as the wind carried the voices away. Unsettled, Rook turned from the scene and walked back towards Ruby’s shop at a hurried clip. The last thing he needed was to get caught up in that kind of nonsense.
Rook
ImageImage Elias Caldera
User avatar
Rook
Ever Watchful
 
Posts: 145
Words: 120230
Joined roleplay: January 14th, 2018, 4:26 am
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Medals: 1
Donor (1)

A Nudge in the Right Direction

Postby Rook on March 22nd, 2018, 5:46 pm

Image
Your grades are here!


Rook

Skills
*Observation +5
*Rhetoric +3
*Persuasion +3
*Intimidation +1


Lores
* Herbalism- Scales: Required for measuring proper quantities of herbs
*Run your errands before filling your belly
*Persuasion- No one wants to bargain with a poor slave
*Persuasion- Don’t let them know what you want right away
*Tine- A trader of all wares and poor hygiene


Rewards & Penalties
*None!
*None!


Notes
My first graded thread! Hope I did okay!


*Anything you want to say*. Don't forget to edit/delete your grading request in the queue, and PM me if you have any questions or concerns!
ImageImage Elias Caldera
User avatar
Rook
Ever Watchful
 
Posts: 145
Words: 120230
Joined roleplay: January 14th, 2018, 4:26 am
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Medals: 1
Donor (1)


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests