Solo [Job Thread] When Opportunity Knocks

[Naeya]

When Opportunity Knocks Timestamp: 47th Day of Fall, 513 AV Tap tap. “Mrghhh…” Naeya rolled onto her stomach and pulled the thin, scratchy blankets over her head. Whoever was knocking would just have to wait for another bell. Leth still ruled the sky, and Naeya had no plans to awaken before the sun goddess took his place. She snuggled deeper into the lumpy mattress and waited for the sleep haze to take over. Tap tap. Tap tap tap. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Not today. Naeya drowsily reached for her straw-filled pillow and stuffed her head beneath it. What kind of inconsiderate person showed up at someone’s door before sunrise, anyway? Not anyone that Naeya wanted to talk to. Perhaps if she ignored them long enough, they would go find another poor soul to bother. In the meantime, she would sleep. TAP TAP TAP. A resigned sigh escaped the konti’s lips. They were certainly persistent - she had to give them that. Naeya groaned and swung her legs off the bed, careful not to become entangled in the blankets. She flinched as her bare skin came in contact with the cold air, made worse by the draft from the room’s only window, and quickly pulled a white cotton chemise over her undergarments. “Coming!” she called out, her voice husky from sleep. After draping a green wool scarf over her shoulders - it was pre-dawn, she was under no illusions of impressing anyone - Naeya tip-toed to the door in an effort to keep as much of her feet from touching the icy wood as possible. “Okay, I’m here. What do you-“ Silence. Naeya’s brow wrinkled in confusion as she poked her head out of the doorway and peered down each end of the dusty hallway. “Hello?” Not a soul in sight, except for the spotty stray tabby cat that hissed meanly at her from a neighbour’s door. She frowned into the darkness. “Not a very clever prank, you know.” She had just moved to close the door when she spotted it. A small parcel, wrapped in burlap and tied with twine, sat just beyond the doorway. A folded note lay tucked beneath the twine and, written in elegant black scrawl, was a very familiar name: Naeya Ti’av Naeya glanced down the hallway once more before bending to pick up the parcel and stepping back into her room. She settled onto the edge of her bed, bare legs dangling above the ground, and sat the package in her lap as she carefully unfolded the note. Naeya, Deliver this package to the Library before the ninth bell, unopened and unseen. If these conditions are met, I will reward you accordingly. With thanks, S. It was going to be that kind of day.

[Naeya]

It wasn’t unusual for Naeya to find letters or packages left at her door. After a half season's work building up credibility as a courier, word had spread to her neighbours that she offered a service where items were delivered promptly and reliably to the intended destination. Not only that, but the messages arrived unread and the packages arrived unopened. This was such a novelty in Sunberth that the young konti found she needed to do less and less to promote herself as the days wore on. She set the note down on the bed beside her and bit her lip, deep in thought. The Library. She hadn’t yet had an opportunity to visit the library during the short time she had lived in the city. Daedalus had told her that is was located in Stumble Alley. She’d wandered into the neighbourhood once or twice – always during daylight, just as Daedalus had instructed – but had never chanced upon that particular building. If she were being honest, after spending half a season in Sunberth she was still pleasantly surprised to find that the city had pulled together the resources to build and maintain such a service. A large number of the city’s citizens couldn’t read, at least to her knowledge, which made the library either an excellent investment for teaching the illiterate or a spectacularly optimistic use of mizas. Her gaze shifted to the parcel on her lap. The note provided strict instructions not to open it (and she would never dream of opening a package meant for another, save a childhood Gift Day incident involving her brother’s birthday and her mother’s disapproval), but her curiousity was piqued and she could not keep herself from investigating the outer workings of the package. It was rectangular-shaped and felt sturdy beneath the burlap, like a gift box. A birthday surprise, perhaps? That would certainly explain the secrecy. Naeya lifted the package to eye level in order to inspect the wrapping for a hint of the intended recipient, as the note had made no mention of whom the delivery was intended for. She scanned the surface as she turned the parcel over in her hands, slowly covering each inch of the burlap until she found what she was looking for. L. B. Two tiny letters, nearly indecipherable in size, were stamped in black on the bottom of the package. L… and B. Were they initials? A secret code? An inside joke, shared between friends? Naeya blinked, shaking herself out of her thoughts. These were questions that might never be answered, and the morning was moving on without her. Naeya slipped off her bed, out of her chemise, and into a slim-fitting pair of brown pants. She pulled on a shirt and a pair of low boots, and ran a brush roughly through her hair. The weather was likely to warm as Syna rose, but she fastened her cloak around her shoulders to ward off the morning chill. As a final step, she grabbed her dagger and hung it at her hips. Simply having the weapon with her seemed to ward off those with questionable intentions – and even if it didn’t, she still felt safer for it. With package in hand, she crossed the room and locked the door behind her. Next stop: the Library.