PM to join I Have No Idea What's Going On (Faradae)

[Azmere]

19th of Summer 518 AV

The man sat on the ferry and looked up to the city as it stretched towards the sky. The knights had said that Riverfall was a place to find answers. For the most part, the human spoke highly of the sprawling hub of life perched on a cliff that not only guards a river but stands watch over the sea as well. The position not only seemed strong but smart. From what he had gathered, the scarred vagabond could learn a lot from the warriors who lived and ruled over this place but he had to fall in line. There was a strict order and a numb intolerance for certain things -so the knights had claimed.

A cold canine nose pressed into the palm of the man’s hand. The contrasting gaze fell upon his companion’s icy stare and smiled. Rough hands shook slightly as they took the dog’s ears into their grasp and shook his fur in a loving yet rough sort of way. It seemed whenever the beast and the lost locked eyes that the animal was trying to convey some kind of message to the man. The hollow one tried to think on this but he kept coming back to the glaring issue of his present circumstance. He was heading into a place that he did not know without knowing who he was or how he could benefit such a well-constructed society. Normally, one might question the opinions of others on many subjects but the ignorance of a blank mind led to an innate need for trust.

As the trip wore on, the space given to the man and his dog was unmistakable. People gave them a wide berth but to pinpoint an exact reason among the many plausible ones might be difficult. The man was covered in scars and strange tattoos to the point that his eyes didn’t match. He carried rugged equipment and a decent amount of it then was flanked by a large dog - not huge, but imposing enough in its combination of physical prowess and seemingly intelligent stare. The pair smelled of stale air, stagnate water and a fear of baths. On top of that, the man and dog might each have been intimidating in their own right but the hungry look of their forms and the lost look on the man’s face left a sort of impression like he was not in his right mind.

The ferry docked and people unloaded, most of whom knew what to do and where to go. The man and his dog followed along at a slow pace. Heavy packs, poor diet and a limp took their toll. The scarred traveller grimaced with each step that put his weight down upon his left leg but he soldiered up towards the massive gates.

Just then, the sun broke through the clouds and its radiance sent the man staggering off to one side. He shielded his eyes and twisted on the path until he was turned around and his back was to the fiery globe. Even then, with only indirect light to content with, his eyes wanted to remain shut. Tears streamed down his face and left filthy streaks in their wake as the natural illumination settled in upon the man. He focused on his breathing and held his fingers against his eyes for a few ticks. Once he felt balanced, he allowed his hand to drop and then slowly opened his eyes once more.

The man stared at the ground and marveled at the detail he could see when he was able to focus even though the edges of his vision were certainly blurred. Chimes passed as people did the same. Everyone came and went in one direction or the other while he simply stood and tried to adjust to life above ground. There was a sick feeling in his gut for the longest time -like a lump of dirt but the gentle burn of the sun’s rays on his exposed skin was gradually melting away his unease. With a deep sigh, he closed his eyes again and turned around to face the city known as Riverfall. The man lifted his face to the sun and opened his eyes. More tears helped him fight through the pain and temporary blindness from the bright surroundings but his body adjusted at its own pace.

The gates were magnificent and worthy of the description given to the vagrant by one of the knights. With a set jaw and a bit of renewed strength, the pair set forth into Riverfall. When they passed under the great arch, a huge warrior of blue skin and large muscles stepped into his path. The massive hand held out a map and gave a greeting. "Welcome, traveler. Here is a scroll of welcome from the city. It contains a list of our laws, a map of the city, and some advertisements from local businesses that sponsor these scrolls to be made. You can feel free to come in if you agree to our laws and turn this scroll back in when you leave so we can reuse it." The man must’ve stared in some kind of odd way at the host for the living giant rolled his eyes then walked away to greet other visitors.

The scarred man shrugged and moved along further into the city. There was so much to look at and so many people that the ground began to pitch and roll with each step. Clutching his welcome pamphlet and putting a hand down on the head of his furry friend, the weary traveller found himself tipping and leaning towards the nearest wall. After a few awkward steps and the sudden urge to shuck his load, the man dropped his bags and sat abruptly on top of them. It was a fall of sorts but the gear made it look more intentional that it actually was. The dog moved in and pressed his nose t the man’s leg. Rough hands stroked the animal’s neck then felt around on the pack until a waterskin was produced. The man lifted it to his lips and drank deeply. When he was done, he simply looked around with a bewildered expression. He had no idea how to start this next phase of his adventure of rediscovery. One thing was certain- he would need help.

Textbox courtesy of Firenze

[Faradae]

Faradae “Sorry, miss, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea to employ you.” Those words spoken, Xira Hezmec turned his attention to the next customer, an elderly human who visibly struggled with the large parcel in his arms. The man stumbled forward, hardly seeing what was in front of him, and more-or-less accidentally shoved Faradae aside as he dumped his parcel on the front room counter of Mizahar’s Express Courier Service. Fara frowned, but did not try to regain the owner’s attention. She wasn’t especially happy about Hezmec’s decision, but he had a point. She’d been in Riverfall for a season now, and while her savings were not exactly running low, she was unmotivated and feeling downright bored. In fact, she was a version of herself she hardly recognized. That feeling of something missing was still there, stronger than ever, but while it had once set her in a mood of wanderlust, put a bounce in her walk and made her restlessly adventurous, it was now a thorn in her side, an old pain she was tired of and did not know how to stop. She had rapidly lost most of her spark and for the love of Eywaat, she had no idea why. It became evident to her as the days dragged on in the waterfall city, and each morning looked awfully like the last. Perhaps part of her misery hailed from hiding her Kelvic nature. She left the city occasionally to shift and spread her wings, but she’d made a habit of maintaining her human shape after witnessing other Kelvics being treated as animals and servants in the Akalak city. Fara had been on a constant move for years, seeking adventures everywhere, but now, she could not even find joy in exploring the city. She did it, of course, since there was nothing else to occupy her, but now she never started conversations as easily as she used to, and for the first time, she hard trouble remembering the city’s layout, often getting lost despite the map she had been given at the gates when she first entered the city. Despite her difficulties, she tried to take small courier jobs to have some sort of income, remembering the way deliveries had helped her understand how navigation worked in Alvadas, but it quickly became evident that the citizens of Riverfall preferred the services of the well-established courier service, the likes of which she had not seen in any other city before. Naturally, she applied for a job at the shop, but the owner had turned her down repeatedly, naturally weary of a foreigner diminishing his reputation as a trustworthy provider. The fact that Fara couldn’t finish the easiest of his test runs without taking unreasonably long or botching the delivery completely didn’t help. She felt worried, disappointed and weary. She trudged out of the clean glass door and joined the stream of people on the main road outside, hardly thinking about where she wanted to go. The worst that could happen was her getting lost in some back alley, but she always found her way back to a larger street eventually, even if it took her bells. Instead of deeper inside the city, she found herself nearing the city gates. The sight made her itch to shift and flee the stone walls. And why shouldn’t she? There was nothing to gain in Riverfall, not for her, not today. Her posture changed to be slightly more purposeful as she continued on, and her attention was directed outward as she passed the first houses she’d marvelled at upon first entering the city. They were nothing special to her now and hardly a reason to slow down, but the man crouched against the wall of some official building was. Or rather, his dog was. It was a large grey beast with blue, alarmingly intelligent eyes, and Fara was sure it was staring right at her, which triggered an instinctive alarm in the avian part of her brain. She dodged to the side, bumping right into a merchant’s cart, sending a pile of food toppling over the street while Fara bruised her arm on the cart’s wooden edge. “Shyke!”, both the merchant and the Kelvic shouted simultaneously, and the bird ducked at the unwanted attention, hoping to slide away before someone made her pay for the damage she’d caused.

[Azmere]

“Oh, you stupid cow!” The merchant cried. His eyes were rimmed with tears as his precious cargo hit the dirty cobbles of Riverfall’s streets. Despite looking more upset than angry, his mood quickly changed as a shadow passed over his face. He stared at the woman with daggers in his eyes. Azmere had watched the whole thing take place and at some point he had witnessed a look on the brunette’s face that drew him to a place of sympathy. She seemed out of place and that was certainly relatable. The vendor seemed upset and his voice grew louder with every passing tick. The wanderer wasn’t sure what they were saying. He hadn’t heard this language before.

With a hand idly going to the pouch of coins at his waist, the scarred man realized he could likely settle this matter and fill his stomach with something that smelled of smoke. He pushed himself off of the building and moved towards the commotion which was slowly building into a scene as more people gathered around. So far, the guards at the gates had not noticed the disturbance or if they had, they didn’t feel it was worth their time at present. The large dog moved beside the dirty stranger as he limped towards the merchant, the woman with brown hair and the pile of food on skewers. Each step sent a shock of pain up through his leg into his insides and every third or fourth would reveal itself in a slight twitch of his face’s right side. Still, he moved with a steady rhythm despite his uneven gait.

The musty-smelling man arrived near the merchant’s fallen goods and stooped to inspect them. The big, grey dog loomed over the man’s scarred side and the scent caused his mouth to open and a long pink tongue to hang out unchecked. The merchant saw this from the corner of his eyes and turned to chide the newcomer but found his words stolen by the strange appearance of the nosey human. The vendor had reached his boiling point and turned towards the gates themselves and called for the guards. The man with multi-colored eyes rose and squared off to the owner of the cart and drew out his coin purse. “There’s no need for that. I would like to buy what this woman knocked to the ground. My dog and I are hungry.” Hearing one of his new names, the canine moved to stand next to his master even though his blue eyes lingered on the morsels. The scarred man spoke Pavi but used no signs.

“Oh-uhh.” The big blue merchant stammered for a moment but regained his cool as a pair of armed giants; one purple and one light blue, entered the circle of people. The vendor spoke some Pavi so it took him a second to process what was spoken.

“Is there a problem here?” The darker one asked the owner of the cart.

“No problem, sirs.” the vendor bowed his head towards the soldiers. “Sorry to have bothered you.” The chubbier Akalak then turned and looked back to the man holding his money purse and smiled. He switched from Tukant to Pavi though his patterns were out of sync and his accent was not even close to that of the stranger’s.

“You can buy. Buy all. One price.” The man looked to his sullied wares and pondered a moment. Smoked herring wasn’t worth much but for the seven pieces on the ground, he figured he might be able to get a fistful of silvers for them. “Nine silver Mizas, friend.” The man postured a little to indicate he was offering a deal. In truth, it was just market price for goods not worth full value.

The shaking hands of the filthy vagabond worked in tandem to open and fish out a set of coins. He produced four, two rimmed in gold, one in copper and the other in silver. The blue and gold gaze looked down and figured he had nine of any one of the sets but he wasn’t sure which one the merchant had asked for since he hadn’t a clue what silver actually was or meant. He held out his hand so that the vendor and the woman could easily see what he had while the other hand held onto his purse which jingled as it shivered in his palm. “Which one is silver Mizas?”

The merchant’s eyes twinkled in a golden light. “This one!” He pointed at the gold Miza. His gaze shot up to the brunette and he switched to Tukant. “Keep your mouth shut and I’ll give you three gold after this fool pays me nine.” His face returned to the strange character before him and the Akalak plastered a wide, fake smile on his blue face. His language went back to Pavi. “That’s the one I need and you have two there so I'll need seven more then you can have your fish.”

Textbox courtesy of Firenze

[Faradae]

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Faradae stood back a little as the events around her unfolded, still shaken up by what had transpired. There was a lot of bickering and swearing in languages of which she understood little – the language of the Akalak, Tukant, she remembered, it was called, was still new to her and she only caught a few words that she heard often, simple words of greeting, mostly, and one swear word or another. Most of the Akalak spoke fluent common, a fact she was grateful for. At the moment, she lacked motivation to pick up a new language, and she doubted that she’d learn fast with her current, short span of attention.

Obviously, the merchant was angry at her, and he looked ready to call the city watch as he approached her. Faradae turned and made to shift and leave the scene of her latest crime, but halted when she realized the original cause for her shift in attention, the rugged man and his dog, came closer. While not especially trustworthy, their facial expressions did not seem hostile Neither the man’s, nor the dog’s. The bird inside her relaxed a little, knowing the predator was not out to hunt her, but the human part of her brain insisted that she wasn’t out of trouble yet, but that in fact, the problems were only just beginning to pile up.

The stranger spoke up in a language she hadn’t heard before, but it shared more similarities with common than Tukant did. The way words were built sounded vaguely familiar, but she could not make anything of it. Perhaps it was just the voice of the man reminding her of someone else? In the end, it was just another tongue she did not understand, and that made it no different from Tukant. The merchant seemed to be grasping for a fidget of understanding in his own memory, and unlike Fara, he found something, and started discussing something with the tattooed man while the dog stood by expectantly. He spoke haltlingly, with sharp edges, but he was understood. Fara watched as the stranger pulled money from his curse, three coins, one bronze, one silver, and two whole golden miza. What kind of price was that? Was that man trying to buy the entire cart, along with the vendor’s clothes? Arguably, the change in clothes might have been for the better, rugged as the stranger looked. She looked closer at the vendor’s face, trying to read between the edges of his smile and the joyful sparkle that had replaced the anger in his eyes. She knew that face, had bickered with merchants on the markets of various city. He was smelling a deal.

And suddenly, her lack of understanding did not matter so much when he turned the mizas in the stranger’s palm, held up nine fingers and cast Fara a sideways glance, whispering a few Tukant words in her direction. It was clear which kind of agreement he was trying to strike with her.

Under different circumstances, she would have gone along with the ruse, been happy to make easy money. What did morals matter? A grown man who, judging by the jingle of his purse, had some money to him, should know what a bunch of fish that had lain on the ground was worth and what it wasn’t. But the stranger had helped her when he hadn’t needed to, and she didn’t like the merchant, didn’t trust him as far as he could throw her. After all, he had just called the city watch on her for accidentally brushing past his cart a little too forcefully.

The merchant looked ready to fish the mizas out of the merchant’s coin purse himself, opening his own palms expectantly. Instead of waiting it out, or vanishing in the crowd, which would’ve been the sensible thing to do, Faradae piped up, feeling like her old self for the briefest moment: “I hope he’s just promised you a season’s worth of fish and a prime set of fishing equipment on top to supply you when it runs out. If not, you’re being conned out of an immense amount of money right now. I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.”

The merchant shot her a glance that screamed bloody murder, but his smile faltered only for the shortest moment. The stranger had addressed him in Pavi, there was a chance he didn’t speak common. “She is vile one. Damaged my cart and now...” he needed a moment to find a suitable word, “insolent. Do not mind it.” In Tukant, under his breath, he snarled another threat at her, still not realizing that Fara didn’t understand a word.

Still, the voice was enough to erase any doubt that he would personally drag her back to the city watch once he was done pulling the coins out of outsider’s pockets. She took it as her cue to stop being bold and wanted to take a step back, melt into the stream of people strolling down the boulevard, walking circles around the cart and the three people discussing next to it. The merchant’s hand shot out with a speed she wouldn’t have believed him to possess, and grasped her wrist.

“Don’t you dare.” It was Tukant, but the gesture was clear as day.

[Azmere]

The wanderer was unsure exactly what was said or why but even his normal method of using context and body language was not going to work because the merchant moved too quickly and spoke almost as fast. His words blurred together and the scarred fellow swore the dialects changed. Sounds shifted hard from one cluster to another and it left the simpler man behind in negotiations. When al was said and done, the man covered in scars rifled through his coin bag and produced what he thought was the agreed upon amount. That is when the woman spoke up. It was Common and it was a warning. The azure and amber gaze fixed upon her, judged her and read her. She seemed to be honest. There was no shiftiness or other alarming behaviors so the dirty wanderer from the tunnels elected to trust her versus the man whose smile came easily to his face.

He handed the man nine silver-rimmed Mizas and took a step forward during the exchange. Once his hand was emptied of coin, the normally shaking paw snapped out with a speed he didn’t know that he possessed. The weathered fingers closed around the other arm of the woman. He stared at her face with the right side, the one capable of expression, and did his best to convey that he meant her no harm. The scarred side of him, the left, he pressed closer to the merchant. Though the blue man was larger than the buyer, he seemed to lack the kind of military bearing which the guardsmen held. The multi-colored gaze filled with stars locked onto the fishmonger and held him there for a moment as the two men held onto the same woman.

When he finally spoke, it was low, calm and unthreatening but the look on his face and the kukri in his belt told another story. “She is free to go.” His Common was perfect -laden with a Pavi accent but it conveyed exactly what he wanted to say.

Ledger9 SM deducted

The merchant thought about his options here and it took a solid few ticks before he decided that the nine silver was worth walking away with ten times the profit. He nodded and let go of the woman then pushed his cart away leaving behind the fish on the ground for the man covered in scars. There were some choice words uttered at his departure but nothing that the vagabond understood. He held the woman until the evil akalak walked away. The broken mind could only imagine what sort of horrible thing he had planned for the brown-haired lady. She had deep, curious eyes and the Drykas found himself staring. He looked away and let go then set to cleaning up the smoked treats from the ground; several of which had already been eaten by the big dog who now sat on his haunches and licked his chops.

When he had gathered the purchased meat, he stood up and turned around to find the woman still standing there. Her brown hair framed her face in a way that made him look longer. She had this innocence about her that made him think she might make a trustworthy person to help him find his way in this new city. He’d already put his faith in her once and it had paid off by allowing him to resolve a tense situation. He hoisted his pack up onto his shoulders and offered her a smoked fish. “I need to find home. I give you fish. You help me find it?”

Textbox courtesy of Firenze

[Faradae]

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The stranger took her advice, and it appeared that her bold honestly was about to pay off. Not only did the man with the odd-eyed man pay for the fish she’d spilled, but he went ahead and bailed her out of her unfortunate situation as well, by….staring the merchant into consent? Admittedly, he was a rugged figure, but something about the way he acted made him seem more helpless than threatening, like an actor playing a role he had not studied and knew little about. That impression was only reinforced by the words with which he turned to her after the merchant had departed, offering her fish in exchange for help. Fish was not exactly Fara’s favourite food (she preferred a good piece of meat by far), but it would do just fine to keep the hunger at bay. On top of that, which the Courier Service turning her down yet again, she was out of better options of biding her time in any useful fashion.

Thank the gods that he spoke some common, at least. “Well, I’m not exactly a resident, myself, but I’ll try to help you.” She cast a proving look over his bags, which looked no less tattered than the man himself. The dog, sitting next to the luggage, seemed content with his meal. He wagged his tail once or twice when she looked at it, and Fara wasn’t sure whether it was because it’s belly was full or because of the attention she was giving it. The dog was not hungry now, but she still quickly turned away. “Is this all you have?”, she asked the stranger and searched his face for where he was coming from, what had gotten him in this state, what he was doing in a city the languages of which he hardly understood. She found nothing, except for a spark of familiarity in those sparkling, deep eyes that she couldn’t place, and not for lack of trying. She allowed her gaze to wander, take him in completely for the first time. Dirty, uneven, greying hair, not exceptionally pretty, largely thanks to the nasty scars on his face and neck. One of his arms was tattoed in flowing, fascinating designs the likes of which Fara had seen on humans before – all of them strong, proud riders. This man did not look like them. Not with his limp and the way his hands shook when he was trying to concentrate on moving them precisely. His shady appearance and the way he acted did not fit at all.

Fara took the fish from his hands, gave it a sniff, and took a hearty bite. She was lucky that it was smoked fish. She didn’t particularly care whether her food was raw or processed, but she’d learned that eating raw meat and fish was not exactly publicly accepted. “I’m going to take you to the Kulk, that’s the inn I stay at. There’s also Atri’s, and that may be a little nicer, but it’s also more expensive… You could probably afford it, considering you almost paid that numbwit in golden mizas, but this way it’s easier for me to get you settled. Just follow me- Oh, and by the way, call me Fara.” Fara was surprised by her own enthusiasm. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was about this man that made her want to talk and help so much, but she was fine with it. Anything to ease the boredom and distract from her intrinsic sadness would do.


The Kulkukan Tavern on the third tier of Riverfall was always buzzing with all kinds of patrons, and this afternoon was no exception. Between workers finishing their shifts and weary visitors just in from the city gates and those looking to drink the day away, the stranger accompanying Fara was probably not the sweatiest of the lot, but perhaps the smelliest. The Kelvic trudged in with some weariness, as of course, she had lost her way several times during the trip from the main gates to the inn. By the time she had considered giving up and just leading the stranger back to Atri’s, which was conveniently located right next to the gates, she had been closer to the Kulkulan Inn than the entrance to the city. By the time she actually found it, the afternoon had progressed into early evening, and Fara was getting tired. She felt sorry for the stranger with his limp and his bundle to carry. During the trip, she almost wanted to offer her help carrying, but had refrained from it as not to hurt his dignity.

Even Nystir, the Akalak owning the place, a man who’d seen it all, sniffed in disbelief when Fara approached. He knew her from the time she’d stayed at the inn, and seemed mildly surprised to see her arrive with a companion. “Greetings. Anything I can do for you this evening? ...We don’t exactly offer baths, but...”

“No worries,” Fara said, “my friend will need a room and a chance to drop off his belongings, but we’re heading over to the Moon baths.” Hopefully she’d find it before nightfall.

[Azmere]

The wanderer watched the woman with curiosity flickering behind the mismatched gaze. She seemed to size him up thoroughly while a hand idly took the payment that was offered. She spoke Common and, thankfully, it was slow enough that the dirty traveler could understand. The word resident did not sit well in his mind. It should mean something and he was certain that it did but he couldn’t place it. He thought long and hard about her entire statement and guessed that it had to have something to do with the city and those who are a part of it. To reassure himself of this, he mouthed the word three times. The question was raised regarding his belongings.. For the former tunnel rat, the amount he carried seemed beyond fair- excessive, even. So he simply nodded and cast a puzzled glance in the woman’s direction.

The scarred man walked along with the woman. He fancied her name, Fara, and repeated it over and over again. One time, the voice in his head said it in such a way that it made the right side of his face smile. The sun moved across the sky and they trekked onward, upward, backwards and sideways before they arrived at some strange place, the name of which the filthy wanderer had forgotten. He stayed close to her even as she dealt with the big barkeep. The fellow with two faces was never intimidated by the large brutes but he was constantly impressed at the sheer size of them though he noticed there were no females in that same skin.

The marred individual scratched at the dog’s ears- poor beast was whipped- when the owner held out a key and his open hand. The weathered fingers shook slightly as they dug into his pouch and retrieved the required sum. An exchange was made and that’s when the vagabond realized he’d eaten all of the fish. He frowned but allowed himself to be shown the room he had just rented for the night. He made quick work to drop off his things and the dog. He closed the door and stood outside then looked to the brunette for advice on what came next. He had just his dingy shirt, half busted boots and his beatdown leather trousers on as well as a tulwar and a kukri. Everything else was inside the room. The trusting stranger held the door slightly open and the key in one hand. “Need nothing, yes? Close door and lock?”

Textbox courtesy of Firenze