[Riverfall Location] The Monstrous Menagerie

[Gossamer]

Nevar Chivan, near the end of Winter, hired Ivanu and Revar specifically to start his menagerie which has always been a dream of his. The building, having been constructed over the last few years, is finally ready for animals and is slowly being populated. Located in the northwest part of the city near the Council Chambers, the Riverfall Monstrous Menagerie is made up of a series of complexes surrounding one giant skyglass dome that acts as a orangery which keeps the birds and flying animals of the exhibits. Holding all sorts of creatures, the Monsterous Menagerie isn't always the safest place to visit. But it is rumored to be one of the most intriguing. Along with monsters and unusual animals, the Menagerie claims some inhabitants that are considered sentient. Here one can see a glassbeak - as is expected - up close and personal as well as some of the more despised but intelligent races of Mizahar like examples of Symenestra and Zith. Visitors are welcome year round. They are allowed to roam the corridors of this complex and stroll through the gardens at will. It is quite a lovely spot to go visit, especially if the Menagerie is having a good day and all its denizens stay well contained. Food and drink is allowed, though the keepers ask that none be shared with the Menagerie occupants. Picnics are encouraged in the glass domed garden. A whole host of exotic birds will visit such activities begging for treats. Guards and keepers look the other way when visitors share with these more mundane colorful creatures. Exhibits The Symenestra Exhibit The Symenestra exhibit is one of the two largest in the building, the other also occupying the 'Enemies on the Grass' section - Zith. The exhibit is a dark, wide room decorated to resemble a cave hung with hammocks and walkways of spider silk, strategically hung so that relaxation areas were in full view of the glass separating the visitors from the exhibits. A large teardrop of silk, big enough to encase a man, hangs suspended against the left wall, and glowing opalgloams dotting the ceiling. There is a small fountain to the right side, and a pair of inset caves stand open in the back of the exhibit. Food is slid in through a disguised door above the fountain, hidden from vew of the glass. At present, there are three Symenestra in the exhibit: Shisha, a female; Ves, a male; and Golgo, a male baby. None of the inhabitants are related, though visitors often assume they are a family. The baby is unrelated to either of the exhibits other inhabitants, and was instead birthed by a Symenestra brought to the exhibit as an adult and was experimentally bred in an effort to start an artificial colony. Adults have never done well behind the glass, however, and all but the current inhabitants have either died trying to escape, or committed suicide. The current inhabitants know little of the world outside their exhibit, and it is thought that this is what keeps them alive.   Shisha Name: Shisha Race: Symenestra DoB: 7th of Winter, 494AV PoB: Riverfall Title: Exhibit Skills: 30 Climbing, 15 Organization, 10 Interrogation Gnosis: N/A Additional Info: Shisha was born into the Menagerie, after her pregnant mother was captured traveling for unknown reasons out on the Sea of Grass. All she knows and has ever known are the four walls of her exhibit, and thus, does not lament her exhibited life. For her, it is simply the way of life. Other Symenestra are periodically captured through various means and are added to the exhibit, but their words of an 'Outside' space where one is not viewed by strangers are as myths to Shisha. She is ignorantly content with her life in the fabricated cave of her exhibit, watching faces go by on the other side of the glass, and waiting for the next food bowl to be slid in from the side of the cave. She speaks broken Common, mostly from the years of listening to visitors either taunt or attempt to converse with her, and the occasional transplant Symenestra will teach her more words. She and Ves converse in a hushed, hissed form of Symenos, another institution of one of the various elder Symenestra transplants. On rare occasions, Shisha will be bored enough to converse through the glass, though will abandon the conversation with abrupt coolness if the inclination takes her.   Ves Name: Ves Race: Symenestra DoB: 84th of Autumn, 497AV PoB: Kalinor Title: Exhibit Skills: 20 Stealth, 10 Seduction, 5 Intimidation Gnosis: N/A Additional Info: Ves remembers only flashes of the outside world, having been captured traveling with his father at the tender age of four. His father was a part of the exhibit for a year, before a failed escape attempt took his life. Ves harbors a resentment for the Menagerie Keepers, though he has long forgotten it was because he knew that they were somehow responsible for this father's death. He believes in the 'Outside', though his claims of memories of dark grass and cool wind are dismissed by Shisha as nonsense. Ves rarely interacts with visitors, prefering to glower at them from one of the many silk hammocks throughout the cave. He speaks better Symenos, but less Common than Shisha, and his Common vocabulary primarily consists of taunts the Akalaks hurl at him through the glass. He prefers to hide in the one-person suspended room in their exhibit, and often tries to get Shisha to squeeze in with him, partially to hide her away as well, and partially to take what chaste attentions she is willing to give.   NPCs Name: Ivanu & Revar Race: Akalak DoB: 369 AV (143 yo) PoB: Riverfall Title: Head Zookeeper Skills: Animal Husbandry 85, Carpentry 28, Hunting 78, Zookeeping 75, Construction 49, Leadership 64, Organization 32. Lasso 49, Crossbow 68 Gnosis: Wysar 3 Ivanu and Revar have always been animal husbandry people who have kept large stables of all sorts of exotic creatures. Hired by Nevar Chivan, the Akalak runs a tight ship in terms of keeping his monsters and animals safe and making sure the visitors have a good time. Ivanu and Revar do all the hiring of staff. Their office is located near the entrance of the Menagerie.   Visitation Hours Visitation Hours The Monstrous Menagerie is open to the public every day during the hours of daylight.   Employment Visitation Hours Various positions are available here at the Menagerie. There's animal keepers, cleaners, landscapers, and carpenters welcome. They even have a spot for a nutritionist and gardener. Tour guides are needed as well. Pay starts at 2 GM a day for the lowest position of groom all the way up to 10 GM based on skillset.