[Job thread] I see you (Leshi)

by **Eleutheria** on July 31st, 2018, 4:30 pm

79th Summer, 518

Even though Elea was yet to sort out her sleep to fit Lhavit, she still slept better than usual. In past, she would neglect physical exercise and activity, since there was not much to learn involved, she thought. But ever since she converted her sorry run for Okomo Estates into a custom, her blood was running harder, her sleep was deeper... all of those contributing for clearer mind. There were many things to learn outside a library.. and Elea started to see the virtue in all of them. Early dawn, she awoke. The rest of the city was no doubt dormant in Dawn's Rest, but Elea got up, ate up her ration breakfast (plus a carrot or two from the stall) and promptly set out to the Starry Chalice, marching on across the city, once sleepy, now awakening. The work shift should start a quarter an hour after she'd arrive.

Elea was introduced to other apprentice philterers, whom she'd soon share workplace with. She certainly looked slightly startled and shy at the collection she was to hail. Elea was determined to make good for her employer and co-workers: Should they ever find out where she's from, she hoped to give off a good representation of her city of origin. She shook hands with them, one by one, offering each a curtsy introduction and a polite smile. Polite, since it was artificially compelled, for the sake of good manners.

One of the apprentices especially has drew her eye. While some non-humans have mostly resembled the humanity, like Konti, this one was a towering hulk, with a face of a mighty simian ape. As Elea stood before him and shook his mighty hand (or rather, he shook her tree branch of an arm), she felt completely dwarfed by the presence, even as they exchanged their names to one another. Still, there was something about his sight that was no less inquisitive than Elea's. "What is the name of your people?" - she asked in polite tone, even as her eyes were slightly wide.

Now to get the safety gear on, as Tyan dictated, even as this wasn't the first time Elea was donning something like that. Once it was done, she moved out to gather flasks and prepare the recipies requisitioned for her to do today. Nothing seriously complicated: And there was always the watching eye of her employer. There was also running errands in Tyan's own brewing, most of them involving some kind of either fetching, or measuring, or solvent removal via evaporation. Occasionally, Elea's work would face Tyan's intervention, who would show her more refined methods, or improve the finesse and precision of her work.

The recipe was key to follow, sure... but then there were thousand and one other factors. Equipment's purity, humidity in this late summer.. Humidity especially. The way you dispose of solvents... as she inquired about where do the precursors come from, she heard about tons of botanic entities she knew nothing aside of name about. Until recently, it was all the matter of following a recipe to her. But philtering was no cooking and the chemistry behind it was open for Elea to experience and find out about... Just the way she liked it. She still wished she brought her mother's book with her.

549 words

by **Eleutheria** on August 9th, 2018, 9:19 pm

80th Summer, 518

The terror of the weather was less here. But thoughts of storm clouds gathering over Lhavit did not escaped the young Ravokian's mind. Elea stepped in, hailed her master and proceed to get the safety gear on her. Having entered only in sleek pants, half cape and crimson shirt (that could easily pass as undershirt) on her, there was little to no problems changing. Covering the trousers, the wide trousers of thick and heavy material. Upon Elea's shirt, the thoroughly made jacket went, protecting her whole torso and arms. Upon her shoulders, a half cape different than Elea's own was placed. Elea's neck and head were protected as well: A cloth coif and a helmet that protected her whole head, including face. Before donning it, however, she had something to ask the master.

"Tyan, the storm clouds are gathering. Does that mean anything for us working here?" - she asked.

"In few days, the storm will hit in. For that you'll be advised to barricade inside home and not go out anywhere. You won't be expected at work at that day" - Tyan replied, clearly preoccupied with herself, as she was writing down something in great focus. A letter? A ledger? Maybe I should find a way to write to my parents - Elea thought.
"How do you find your gear and equipment? Trust you're adjusting well and all?" - Tyan asked.
"Oh, thanks for concern. Well, it could be more comfortable and all, but I think I have it all right. Else, you would not let me get to work"
"My concern is that you are able to do your work well, no need to thank me" - replied the master. - "Now, I notice while you wear your gear correctly, you may wear it more comfortably at the same time..." - after that, she proceeded to instruct Elea on strapping on and adjusting the clothing in a way that will allow for the most movement.
"Many thanks, master! I hope to learn that and much more from you" - Elea said candidly, after the ordeal.
"No problem. I do not hope, though: I expect you to do so." - Tyan replied.

The workday went on. It was busier than usual: Tyan was either writing things, perhaps letters, perhaps receipts, or directing her employees. She then was standing patiently, watching Elea as she was getting finished brewing up her first batch of a day. She looked at her master sporadically behind her shoulder, interpretating the silence as approval of her work.

"Well done. I would have loosened up the pressure a bit at the start and did not boiled the flask for too long, seeing as I taught you to warm it up in advance. But, it is clear you did such work before. Not as I'd instruct, of course, but, you know a bit of chemistry behind this, as well as cooking."

Indeed. Elea knew that to do this well, you don't just have to know the recipies, the how's... you need to know why's.
Tyan continued: "Anyway, I was writing a request to the local herbalist shop. Their shipment has came and Leshi is going to unload it. Could you quickly take off your safety gear and run off to the All Things Wild with this letter? Also, by the time you come back, Noon Rest should be on. I know you came only recently, so stay up if you must, but try not to disrupt our sleep."

"Aye, miss Tyan. I know the address, I'll get going right away." - replied Elea, promptly going to the locker room, changing to her usual clothes, taking the letter and setting off. Errands like that were to be expected: Mother's philtering saw her do such requests more often than not.

631 words

by **Eleutheria** on August 24th, 2018, 9:23 pm

Elea still had to get used to the city layout. Sure, it was easier to navigate city divided in five sections around its mountain tops, but the terrain made what seemed to be a straightforward trip, seem much more tiring. Ascend here, descend there… Ascending was tiring for obvious reasons, but descending (safely) was surprisingly comparable. Still, there was a lot to look around and landmarks were a plenty: Elea even bookmarked a clothing shop with a short cape that took her fancy. She’d want to buy it once the work was over. Yes, she still remembered her goal. Deliver a shopping list. Nothing too hard. Nothing to grand either, which irked Elea a bit. Her family owned no slaves back in Ravok, but her impression was that errandry like that would be left for them. It almost seemed as if she sunk low, so far away from home.

Indeed, Elea was made clear every time that she was basically on the other side of the world. Tasks that seemed a slave work, were given to freemen. All were dressing comparably fancy, but few had ever any remote traits of truly rich people. Ravok was free from squalor, but it was clear as sun when someone would be richer than the ordinary. Here, it would not even seem like the people were as wealthy as the clothing suggested, it would appear.

Already, Elea could imagine some of her friends, thinking just how low she sank, had she ever shared her experience with them. On the other side of the world, where all seemed upside down. Sometimes Elea thought that too. She was at the Sundial Circle: Reaching it first made it easy to remember where to find All Thingss Wild. Elea set out to look for it. Small building, lots of glass windows… Elea found it to her left, sooner than she thought she would, so she approached it quickly. As she entered, she spotted a man of pleasing face, who appeared to be keeping order behind the counter. “Good day” – he said.

Flustered and unsure how to respond, Elea muttered: “I have a message do deliver for the owner. Any idea where to go?”
“I’m Remas. I help run this place. Just place it here on the counter and I’ll take care of this” – he said. Upon receiving the letter and skimming over it, he looked up to Elea again. “Ah, Starry Chailce! Can’t say I’ve met you before. New hire, I presume?”

“Yes”

“Ah. Welcome, welcome. I trust that our newest shipment is all right here?”
They did not even unpacked it yet. “I heard no complaints” – she answered, to the best of her truth-telling ability.

“Ah, yes. Good, send your regards to your boss once you’re back. Good day!” – he answered, implying in mannerisms that the conversation could be ended.
Elea was free to proceed back to the Chalice. Around her, people were vanishing off the street and rumble of the city was less and less loud. By the time she arrived, there was none. Noon rest. She prayed that the Chalice would be open: She dared not to knock and wake people up, even early and the notion of sleeping outside was less than pleasing for her. Thankfully, her boss awaited her.
“Took you some time. Don’t worry, though: The rest is almost upon us, but not quite. We're going to a resthouse, just next door. Would you like to try sleep with us?”
“Thank you, but I think I’ll just do…. Breathing exercises” – Elea answered.
“The sooner you drag your sleep into our pattern, the less flustered you’ll have to sound here. Also, it's on the house.” – answered Tyan, with a friendly smile.
Could Elea resist such an argument? She could, but she knew better. After all, she has sunk low indeed. Low into the sea that was Lhavit, on the other side of the world. For all that concerned her, trying to go back was not an option. Better to simply have the mermaid that was Tyan teach her to breathe under the sea. Even though teaching her, simply involved inviting her to try sleep.

Thankfully, the bedroom of the resthouse was sizable and Elea had multiple beds to choose from. Tyan closed down the windows, sheeted them up and motioned Elea to choose her bed. Everyone else was already in their own beds.
“Of course, once you pick your own bed, you’re supposed to stay on it” – Tyan mentioned, before she slid unto her own: “Sleep well” – she wished Elea, a wish much needed and not quite effective.

Hesitating, Elea chose a lower bunk bed in a dark corner, hoping it will suit her the most, when it comes to lighting. She laid down as if on her own, looked up unto the rear of the bed above her and closed her eyes. She could not do much else, though. At her own bed, she’d sleep readily and happily: Here, her thoughts were still racing, still on about her. She mustered what she already learned of breathing exercises, using her nose to breathe this time, so as not to disrupt the peace. And though the sleep would not come, she still entered a position that made it easier to relax, incidentally. So she slept, sort of, in a shallow, but relaxed state of being, as if there was nothing but herself in the whole world.

A bell rang. It was Tyan. “Yep, it’s time already. Come on, the sooner you get up, the sooner the sleep mist will get off of you.” – she beckoned. Did she meant Elea’s sleepiness? Probably. She got up but still felt very much sleeping. The two hours of the Rest passed sooner than expected, perplexing Elea. Perhaps she managed to sleep deeper after all. Still, a creeping headache indicated her body was anything but content with breaking the sleep.
Nonetheless, face had to be washed (which helped with waking up greatly) and the body had to be hurried into the safety gear. The fires of industry present in the Chalice were about to get stoked up again and Elea was going to be right there.

“These are the potions for you to make today. Your order is from top to bottom. Make sure to get the recipe book when you don’t know something, no, better yet, when in doubt” – Tyan instructed.
Elea nodded and read the list. It was… daunting, sure. She never made that much before in a single day, that was for sure.
“Of course, it will be done with your coworkers! I want you all to gather around and pick the potions that fall on you to make! Make sure you all have work until the work time’s over!” – she said loudly, almost bellowed. If Elea was not in the safety gear, her head would turn visibly red and flustered. Still, she gathered slowly to already assembled people and overheard them swiftly, seemingly chaotically sorting out the list.

“Elea, what’s your choice?” – one of them asked.
Trying to gather words under this circumstance was very flustering and stressful task, so Elea just burped off whatever came on her mind first: “I have the most experience with healing and energizing potions. Got any of those left?” – she asked. Father in Ebonstryfe made her mother take on orders from the militant order more often than not.
“Just this one.” – the man answered.
“But I don’t really mind giving you more of this one and this one, if that means I can take the sleeping potions off the list” – answered a woman, one Elea already met and found rather pleasing to talk with. – “And it’s a favor, that you can repay later” – she chuckled.
“I’ll be sure of that” – Elea answered.
“No, kidding!” – the woman answered laughing. This confused Elea’s dutiful instinct, but she had her share of work now and could get started.
The recipies were differing from Ravok recipies a bit, but at least the rules in making energising items stayed the same. Mostly involving keeping close watch on temperature, so as to prevent the energizing quality from evaporating. That was easy enough. The equipment had some really neat measurers of temperature, which made the job all the more easy.

Healing items were an other matter. Recipe was quite different from what she learned, so was the volume of final product. Elea’s usual work involved cutting up generous amounts of certain reed species and putting them in the rather loose stew. Here, she instead had to work with strange leafs Elea knew little about. In their case, she had to rely on recipe more closely, going blind in to what was actually happening.
“Is everything going well?” – Tyan asked, startling Elea a bit.
“Oh! Well, it goes good enough. It’s certainly different recipe than what we used back home” – Elea replied.
“How does it differ?” – she asked, genuinely curious about Elea’s customes. Flustered, but glad to share some knowledge with her superior, Elea mentioned what did they used and its volume.
“Yes, yes, that one is very common around Ravok and other fresh water areas. Here, though, we have neither lakes nor swamps and trade for those reeds is not expedient enough. So we take the Zuijin you’re working with right now.” – she answered. – “Same that is used for tea, except, when combined with proper amplifier, like this” – she held a liquid on Elea’s table – “boosts immunity system and wound recovery.
“Thanks. I must admit, I’ve been a bit in the dark about its properties, good thing I have the recipe here” – Elea answered.

“You’re going to learn fast. In no time, I’ll make you a proper philterer. Just have patience and read on about your precursors. Anyway, the amplifier, I call it the Eloboost, is a little combination of raw biomass and diverse herbs, made with alchemy. That gives it its quite powerful potency” – she said.
“Alchemy… What happens when it decays back to its prior form, though? What is its expiry date?” – she asked, stoked up about alchemy making its way to her once again.
“Twilight Tower assures me the potency will last for at least few years” – Tyan answered. Sometimes I order stuff that may last multiple generations.
“But by potency, they do mean its half-life, don’t they?” – Elea asked, unable to contain the curiosity and making Tyan smile at her inquisitive queries “Mix your potion!” – she said, pointing at the flask where the potion was getting ready. Elea, embarrassed that she allowed herself to forget, promptly got back to work.
“I like your curiosity” – said Tyan – “Their half life tends to be over 5 years. The point of the product is to heal fast, so its expiry date is 3 years, “preferred consumption date” is 1 year. There are complications due to marred form after 3 years, whereas the most intended effect is lost after 1 year.” – she elaborated. – “At least that’s what the Tower notice said.
10 years was a non-trivial half-life. It was clear that the level of alchemy here was high.

1829 words