[Flashback] Arriving at the Trickster City (Seidaku)

[Jamisia Abijah]

34th day of Summer, 510 AV ”Garden of no Return? “ Jamisia raised her brow in disbelief. ”That is an odd name.” She put a finger on her lips, thinking. ”If I enter there, I will never leave? Or find myself somewhere else?” From what she heard this place was dripping with magic. Jamisia couldn't tell if it was good or bad. She disliked magic and couldn't understand it. It wasn't rational, like medicine. Something stable and sure, something you could cling too as something reliable. In Ahnatep there was a mage who had burned himself to nothing but ashes. They passed few other streets and Jamisia felt a sort of deja-vu. ”We were like...some time ago?” She commented. ”I remember that funny man in a yellow costume.” Finally they made to the place she hadn't seen before so maybe they would find the inn in no time. Jam became more and more angry with the whole situation. For someone who liked control over things, relying on the city to lead you was frustrating to say the least. ”I am not sure if it is amazing or stupid.” The girl added with a voice betraying growing irritation. Talking about misplaced anger... ”What do you do in home?” Jamisia asked, wondering if maybe Seidaku was a healer too. ”And it is still a home and not a tavern.” She sighed. ”I am sorry, I am just tired/ The girl sent him an apologetic smile, but there was still tension in her features. ”And I need to get used to this place.” Jamisia hated things beyond her control and Alvadas was beyond anyone's wishes.

[Seidaku]

"It's, umm, something of a misnomer," Seidaku said with a reassuring smile, "The Garden is really, ah, quite a beautiful place. But it can be, ah, something of a maze. The paths change... frequently."

He continued to lead the way through the shifting streets, unconcerned at the familiar sense of deja vu that was a frequent companion in the city. "That is fine," he called over his shoulder, "Just because we are, umm, walking in circles does not mean we are walking in circles," he blinked at the statement and shook his head, "Actually, I, ah, suppose it does. But it does not mean we are not getting closer to where we, uh, want to go."

He winced slightly at the aggravation in her voice. Alvadas could have that effect on people who were not used to its unique nature. He still thought it was amazing, and she would hopefully agree once she was able to settle down. Glad for the change of topic, he none the less hesitated before he replied, "I'm a, umm, a scholar... and I, umm, mostly do odd jobs to, ah, support that." Which, when he said it aloud, sounded suspiciously similar to, 'I don't really have a job.'

He tried another reassuring smile, "Familiarity comes with time. Give it a season and you will, ah, hardly notice."

Rounding a corner, he spotted their destination. "There we go," he said, pointing down a street that more resembled a summer field at a building assembled from precariously perched yellow cubes, "The, ah, Cubacious Inn."

[Jamisia Abijah]

34th day of Summer, 510 AV As much as Jamisia wanted to to believe walking in circles was productive, it was something her rational mind couldn't get used. ”This place makes no sense” The girl noticed with resignation. Hopefully they were nearly done with the trip. As much as the city was fascinating it was also tiresome. The girl looked at Seidaku and arched her brow slightly. ”What odd jobs could a scholar do?” There was no suspicion in her voice, more genuine curiosity. It was really something strange to do. A scholar. ”Are you some kind of a teacher?” It was actually the only thing she could imagine a scholar doing, but why would it be an odd job? Jamisia scratched her head and looked around. Ah, something new and...yellow. It was striking how different and odd architecture f this city was, so far from the jewel of desert she had been brought into. It seemed that the inn had no order nor sense whatsoever. Her anger all but gone now, when they actually found the inn, but the feeling of guilt was still lingering somewhere. It was Jamisias' constant problem – to have an outburst of anger and then feel bad about it. Unless it was toward Eypharians or Dhani, then it was fully justified. ”I will trust you on this.” She said with an unsure smile and turned to face Siedaku. ”I know you didn't want any payment, but I would feel bad if you didn't take at least few symbolical coins or..something. Only other thing I can offer is a healer's help.”] Jamisia smiled. There was a reason she disliked debts, mostly because it made you to lose a bit of control of the situation, but also in created an unpleasant feeling of dependency. 'Always pay your debts, child, so people would leave you alone'. Of course the fact that Seidaku was a rather handsome and a nice man made it somehow natural to thank him for his time.

[Seidaku]

"Mostly jobs that are, ah, in no way related to scholarship," Seidaku said with a slight shrug, "Menial tasks and, umm, unskilled labor for a few days coin. End of Season scribework for, ah, some of the poorer merchants. That sort of thing. To, ah, make ends meet."

A teacher? Actually, the idea had a certain merit. At the least, it would be worth looking into...

He blinked at her repeated offer of repayment, this time accompanied by a nervous smile. Was he doing something wrong? He had heard of societies with very rigid systems of honor and obligation. Was Anhatep one of those? He could not remember... Was he offending her by not accepting payment? But at the same time, he did not want to take coin that would undoubtedly be much needed in the next weeks in Alvadas, especially if she intended to stay in the inn.

"If you would be willing," he said, with a nervous smile of his own as inspiration struck, "You could, ah, teach me some of what you know as a healer."

[Jamisia Abijah]

34th day of Summer, 510 AV A scholar that didn't school but was mostly a laborer. What an odd city and even stranger citizens. And nervous at that. Jamisia noticed Seidaku flustering when she mentioned a payment. Maybe in Alvadas it was rude to talk about money? Jamisia remembered that in Ahnatep many things were about the money and power, sometimes in reversed order. “To teach you?” She asked unsure what to do. It took years to become a healer, how to teach someone a little of it? And as payment? Jamisia looked down at the herbs she had bought before and smiled. “Come.” The woman said and gestured at Seidaku to enter the inn. ”Why it is made of cubes?” She asked suddenly, feeling something strange in the air. Ahnatep had many illusive, beautiful places but even a simple inn in Alvadas could give you a headache. Jamisia looked around, trying to peg what was wrong with this place but it seemed like a typical inn. Different architecture than she was used to but there were tables, chairs and a counter. The smell of food immediately gave her cramps; she couldn't decide if she was more hungry or more sleepy. Before sitting, Jamisia smiled to the innkeeper and bowed her head. It was always good to be polite to your future landlord. Moving her attention back to Siedaku, the young healer took out few sets of herbs, suppressing her need for sleep. “Here are some plants you can use for an aching throat. Butterbur, I think it is not easy to find in this climate. Chew it, don't make a tea out of it.” Jamisia pointed at some pinkish petals and thick leaves. “This one” Her hand moved to scoop to fetch something that looked like gray seeds, but in fact were dried fruits. “Caraway cures stomach ailments. Use hot water and some honey to make a potion for various pains.” Finally from a small sack Jami took out a handful of small, dark seeds. “Poppy flower's seeds are good to cure nervousness and pain. You need to boil them for a while, until the water becomes thick. Drink it before sleeping or you will find yourself passed out in the middle of a day.” The girl added with a smile and put the seeds back. “Here, take this, so you can remember the plants we talked about. ” She handed Seidaku a sample from every herb. “I hope everything is clear, I have never taught anyone before.” Small blush crept on her cheeks, along with a shy smile on her lips.

[Seidaku]

"A cube is as, umm, good as any other shape," Seidaku said, following Jamisia into the inn, "Also, a cube allows for an appearance of sameness after, umm, rotations. Regardless of which axis the cubes rotate upon, as long as they, ah, come to rest on their face, the overall appearance is, umm, unchanged."

"Oh, it's quite harmless," he added with a reassuring smile, "Something of a, umm, a tourist attraction, actually. More of an, ah, novelty. Quite harmless."

He took a seat across a small table from her, watching intently as she removed as series of plants from a pouch at her belt. She had decided to teach him some of her trade after all, he thought with a pleased smile. After each description, he closed his eyes for a moment, committing pertinent details to memory to write down later.

When she offered to allow him to keep a small small sample of the plants themselves, he said, "Umm, thank you, very much." Placing the samples on the table in front of them, he ran the tips of his fingers over them and brought each of them in turn to his nose and inhaled gently, learning the scent and feel of the plants to form a more complete image of them in his mind.

Laying them on the table once again, he pointed to each item in turn and said, "Caraway. Used in, umm, treating ailments of the stomach. Imbibed in a mixture with, ah, honey and water... likely to disguise a bitter or, umm, otherwise unpleasant taste. Butterbur. Unlikely to grow in a, umm, temperate environment. Chew to alleviate aches in the throat. Would it, ah, work to reduce pain in the jaw or teeth?" Without waiting for an answer, he moved on to the last item, "Poppy seeds. Cures pain and, ah, nerves. Boiled into a thick liquid. Causes, umm, extreme drowsiness. Potential uses as a, umm, sleep aid, for insomnia, nightmares, and the like?"

"Very clear and, umm, precise," he said with a smile, "Thank you."

[Jamisia Abijah]

34th day of Summer, 510 AV Jamisia thought that every inch of this city was actually a tourist attraction. She looked suspiciously at Seidaku but didn't comment it further, why would he lie? The woman wondered if Alvadas was slowly inducing paranoia as well or some other undesired state of mind. Aside from that the inn looked safe. The number of her fellow humans was both overwhelming and relieving. As she finished her lecture, the girl was close to collapsing which betrayed with a yawn. "I am sorry, I need to get some rest." Jamisia smiled apologetically and stuffed the rest of the herbs in the bag. [color=hotpink]"Yes, it would work on jaw and teeth as well, but remember no to use too much. Every medicine can be deadly as poison when used in the wrong way." The young doctor repeated the phrase her foster aunt would often share. "Overdose of poppy seeds can even lead to a deep sleep, a coma." Jamisia finished gathering her things and walked over to the innkeeper to leave few coins for a medium standard room. "The last one on the right, thank you." She muttered, half-asleep already. Her gaze trailed off to Seidaku and a small smile formed on her lips as the man thanked her for the knowledge. "It was no problem. I should be thanking you." Jamisia bowed her head. "It was a pleasure to meet you. I bid you good day." The woman said. "If you would ever be in a need of medical assistance, most likely I be here....Or some other inn." With this, the doctor turned away and made her away to her new room and a new life. Hopefully with no more arms than necessary.

[Seidaku]

Seidaku was still examining the plants, commiting every fact to memory, when the girl released a jaw creaking yawn. At some point during their walk through Alvadas, day had changed to evening and now a glance through the window showed that the first tendrils of night were beginning their slow creep across the sky. He flushed, embarassed, at the realization. She had been traveling for at least the better part of a season in the untamed wilderness, dragged across the length and breadth of Alvadas in search of an inn, and now he was pestering her with questions on the medicinal natures of plants when she likely wanted nothing more than to crawl into a bed and sleep.

"Oh, umm, of course," he said as she made her way to the innkeeper to request a room, "All things in, ah, moderation." It only made sense. If a specific amount of an herb had a specific effect, then an increased dosage would have an increased effect. If this effect reduced or limited some function, such as blood flow or wakefulness, then it stood to reason that larger consumption would have a lethally amplified result.

He stood and offered a slight bow, more a ducking of his head, "The, ah, pleasure was mine." With a smile, he added, "Good night, Jamisia, and, umm, thank you for the offer."

OOCI think that about wraps this one up. I will submit it for grading unless you want to sneak in one last post for an exit.

[Bedlam]

Thread Completed!

Jamisa Abijah

Experience:
+1 Seduction
+2 Teaching
+2 Observation

Lores:
Alvadas’ Streets

Notes:

You’ve got a few reoccurring problems in sentence structure. (“The caravan leader had told her some strange stories about this city, but nothing what she could heard hadn't prepared her for what Jamisia was looking at now.”) There doesn’t seem to be a pattern to it; sometimes you stick in an extra preposition in there, or forget to put them in at all. (“It made the girl to shudder.”)

I also get the feeling that you’re relying on spell check but not getting the meanings of the word. Basic stuff, like the difference between lied and lay, or tried and tired. Watch out for that in the future.

Seidaku

Experience:
+1 Herbalism
+3 Rhetoric

Lores:
Playing Tour Guide

Notes:

Seidaku is in with the ladies. He rescues them all, from Dhani to bastard half-Syms to regular vanilla, ah, humans from mild issues. All the ladies are his. All of them.