Bulk Transport.

by **Archailist** on February 12th, 2014, 6:49 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Another day, another delivery. That's what most of them said, wasn't it?

The Bureau seemed especially filled today. Countless monks and even a few travelers moving in, out and about just outside of the large double-doors. It was so bad that as he watched from high above the nearest rooftop, perched upon the very boundary with only his tail holding the balance between stability and the sheer drop, he could immediately tell that he wasn't going to get in without a bit of help. Not in one piece anyway, not with all of those feet. And since he couldn't immediately spot any familiar faces, it became obvious that he'd be trying something he'd always wanted to do but never really had the need - crowd-surfing. It was nerve-wracking and exhilarating, all at once.

It involved using the passers-by as stepping stones. And he begun by slipping down to the balcony of the house that lay just below the lip of the stone rooftop; from there between the slats of the balcony fence and even lower still, to the shoulder of a passing monk that was, thankfully, hands-free. If he' been carrying anything, he almost certainly would have dropped it by the way the monk gasped and stiffened, nearly tripping over himself to swat at a squirrel that was no longer there - he'd already hopped to the nearest passer-by, who carried a heavy set of tombs that were most likely on their way to the Hall of Robes. If he found the added weight cumbersome, he didn't show it.

The Pycon leaped from one monk to the next, until he found one that seemed to be cutting the flow to head straight for the door of the Bureau. But he was some distance away - it took a jump from the top of the tower of books to another monks head, and from there again to finally land on the mans shoulder just before he rather unceremoniously plowed through the other customers to get inside. Just behind came the alarmed yells of monks as they realized what'd just happened. The one that he currently perched upon didn't seem to be too pleased either, by the scowl he gave the squirrel. All he got in reply was a rather sheepish smile. "Sorry, I couldn't get in otherwise." The man shrugged in reply.

There shouldn't really have been a reason for such a crowding, but the inside of the Delivery Bureau was even worse than outside. His 'ride' couldn't get any further but the countless pedestrians clogging up every available square inch of floor space created a metaphorical bridge that he could stride across. That's what he thought - in truth, as he attempted it, he found it much more like an ocean with waves lifting and falling. Still, moving from one head to another was not impossible; just not easy. And it left a lot of complaining noises in his wake as many more monks found a squirrel using them as nothing more than a red carpet to its arrival on the counter.

"Anđelko? Got any deliveries?"

The man seemed too swarmed for answers. All around were packages bein shoved onto the counters with payments and hands held out asking for change or other things. A heavy stack, filled with nothing but thin letters and held together with twine was pushed in the squirrels direction along with his bag - nothing else needed to be said. And so he picked out the stack, shoved it unceremoniously into the satchel alongside the Note of Passage that always remained inside, before tightening the belt so that it tucked tightly against the Pycon's diminutive body. And then he was off, bounding over shaven monk skulls with a mixture of angry and aghast cries in his wake.[

by **Archailist** on February 12th, 2014, 8:01 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Once he found space on a rooftop and pulled away the twine to scramble through some of the letters, his heart sank. Only a sparse few had the same address on them, and there were many more than there seemed - his deliveries for the day would be spread all the way across Nyka, to all five quarters and back again. Busy day indeed, and more for just a few.. but then again, he knew that he'd most likely end up with this kind-of work when he asked for the position. And obviously, the first place to go would be all of the places in the Eastern Quarter, since he was already inside.

Two letters on the Flaxen District. That was easy - he could cross over the closely-knit market rooftops there and swing right into the buildings with little need to worry about being stepped on in passing. But as he began a quick run north from the Delivery Bureau, he soon found that the Post wasn't going to be as easy as he'd thought - living merchandise. The bane of righteousness in the Pycon's mind, and he had to walk straight in.

In all sane terms, it was easy. He crossed over the roofs with little need to exert himself since the stone roofs were practically kissing, and after that, a quick slide down one of the walls to land on the wooden post for which the shop was most likely called. But walking in.. well, that was another matter entirely. As soon as he crossed the threshold, he was met with a thousand glaring eyes and a few jeering laughs as the chained slaves behind bars near the far end of the storefront, or even those nearby with heavy-looking shackles and a few odd tattoos over their body took size of the squirrel and immediately dismissed him. As if he'd ever want to buy a slave..

"Can I... erm, help you?" The man seemed to lose his voice half-way through the greeting when he actually caught sight of who he was talking to. Though, he had to hand it to the man.. he was quick to recuperate from his falter and immediately assume a stoic, but friendly air as he gestured to a small row of slaves in particular, with considerably more muscle than the others - and significantly larger and more elaborate tattoos, as well. "I'd guess you're looking for one of our heavy lifters?"

"No, no no.. I'm sorry, I'm just a courier with a letter for you. Well, two actually, by the looks of it." He immediately dropped the small pouch that he'd been carrying and rummaged through the jumble of letters before he came to the two that had been signed and addressed for a Mr. Card. And as he held the up, and the man bent down graciously to receive them, the Pycon was sure he could hear something out of the corner of the room - a pair of slaves making derogatory comments.

"Don't think he'd have been able to han'le even old Mattias over 'ere if he wan'ed to.." Which was followed with a sharp crack and a jangling of chains, though the slave in question hadn't even been touched.. the squirrel didn't have time to look and he was glad for that. Just turned and picked up the sack filled with the rest of his letters and darted out of the door, narrowly avoiding a monk that decided to enter the same moment. The only thing he had time to do, really, was to pass a shout back in the direction of the man, who still knelt on the floor with one knee hovering inches away from the dirty stone, sifting through his letters and watching the squirrel disappear into the crowds.

"Goodbye Mr. Card!" Hopefully for the last time, too. His moral compass detested slavery..

by **Archailist** on February 13th, 2014, 8:12 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

He had a choice now. Many choices in fact. Of course he'd use the Bridge of the Beginning to cross over the directly into the Celestial, but after that, he had the matter of which direction to go to next... there would still be the North, the West and the South. And then afterwards he'd have to return to the East again to return his bag and all of the other equipment. So, on the way to the bridge, he begun forming a plan in his head, occasionally shifting through the letters in his mind as well - at least, those that he could remember. His next destination was going to be The Great Infirmary, although it didn't say who in particular. He'd have to track down one of the monks and just tell them to pass it on to whomever was in charge. And the one after that, Asra's Bath House. Luckily the two weren't that far away.

The bridge wasn't that packed. He managed to cross it quickly by slipping off to the side of the buildings and then using the railing as a balancing beam, although there was a significantly large drop.. the only thing beneath was the Aperture itself, and he could see some travelers giving nervous glances in the squirrels direction. He held his paws out, however, for balance as he scurried across on his hind legs and adjusted where needed with his fairly large tail.. and he was quite fine. After that, he hopped down and managed to quickly pass a small grin to the closest man - a human by the looks of it that had been watching - before disappearing as quickly as possible up a small stack of wooden boxes and up onto the nearest ledge of a stone balcony, hanging from the edge precariously with two paws before hauling himself up and between the bars of the railing, and from there onto the railing itself and onto the roof above.

But that aside, there was still the matter of the actual location. Not that it was hard to notice -the Infirmary truly was 'Great', much larger than the Delivery Bureau, if that was anything to compare it to. Though, the red stone everywhere was beginning to strain his eyes. And it was crowded, just like the Bureau.. if not more because there was no chance of being able to crowd-surf like before without getting a lot more monks annoyed, since most of them looked injured or sick. He didn't want to put any extra strain on them but neither did he want to end up injured himself.. so it was time for a second method. But what? Well.. it was going to be a bit more dangerous than the last one.

The first step was to get onto the building. That was the easiest part - he could use one of the neighboring buildings and jump across with ease, using the ledges of the windows to skip across half of the buildings walls. The ledges were wide enough and the gaps between them short enough that it only became short leaps, punctuated by the small tip-toe past the open windows in case he accidentally fell in. But then he needed to drop down one to get closer to the double doors - which nearly ended horribly as the window below was open, and the slant of the glass meant that he couldn't grab onto the ledge and nearly ended up sliding down it and straight to the floor below.. if not for the magnificent work of his tail looping around one of the metal bars that held the window open, pulling him back up like a third arm. Yet another perk of being a squirrel. They really were endless. But finally, it was time to make his way in, and his method of doing this - by carefully edging his way across the ledges of the stone blocks, before hanging just on the frame of the double doors and swinging his entire body around so that the squirrel could hang from it, work his way inside, and then climb back up to the inside and crawl along the edges of the room. It was much slower than anything he'd usually have done.. but it was a darn sight safer too.

Once inside, though, it didn't take long from his high vantage point to spot who he must have guessed to be the 'head medic' or whatever title the head of the Infirmary would have taken for himself.. or herself. "Excuse me, miss!" He soon slid down the wall and landed on the nearest chair, but stumbled and fell over onto the seat.. and was nearly crushed as an elderly monk made to sit upon it, and the squirrel occupying it. The woman didn't seem to pay attention anyway, until the squirrel could slip quickly and quietly across the pristine stone infirmary floor and tug on her leg. Only then did she look down. "This is for you." The woman took up the letter and opened it on the spot, reading through the small square of paper.

"The next batch of herbs are arriving. Good." And that seemed to be that - the woman turned back without so much as a 'thank you', instead turning to her next patient and completely ignoring the squirrel. He sighed in exasperation and annoyance.. mostly because he still had to find a way out.. thankfully there was a monk, who at least looked mostly healthy on his way out who he could catch a lift on, it seemed.

by **Archailist** on February 13th, 2014, 8:24 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

The monk, who's shoulder he soon occupied, seemed affable. And apparently was on the way to the baths as well - an odd but certainly welcome coincidence. It meant that he could hitch a ride and not have to waste his energy jumping all over the place just for a few letters. At least the things were small and light.. or at least small to a human. The Pycon was sure he could turn the things into a kite and ride them around the city.

And even thinking of such a thing gave the Pycon an utterly brilliant idea that he would have to follow in the future - a flying squirrel.. now he knew they existed, but would it be possible to make one out of clay, hmm? Though.. he'd need to buy plenty of supplies which he was sure wouldn't be around in the city. He'd need to go to the Celestial on the days of the markets and see if he could find some kind of cloth. Or he could just use a parrot, if they had one of those. Though he'd need to train it, and he didn't know how to do that. On second thoughts, using the ground didn't seem like such a bad idea after all.

They traveled in silence - it wasn't a long walk anyway so there was little time to walk and the monk apparently still had a bit of a sore throat and so wasn't up for talking all that much. Not to mention that their activities were filled with trying to push past the other monks that plagued the streets constantly, pushing against one-another in the space provided. But there were surprisingly few around the entrance of the baths - probably for one main reason. The Baths weren't exactly where he'd been expecting them to be. The Safe Haven Hostel was practically.. or rather literally next door to the place and he'd never even noticed that it existed. Then again, Pycons had a bad relationship with water.. and he didn't know how to swim. He knew how to climb though, and run, and whatnot. Still, outside the entrance, he departed from the monk with a quick wave before they split away - the monk was looking for a relaxing bell of soaking, but the Pycon had deliveries to make and he wasn't going to get the letters wet. At least it wasn't that far until he spotted one particular monk that stood out above the others - an Eypharian, chatting with one person and then moving on to the next, all smiles and waves with numerous arms and towels draped over two shoulders. It didn't take her long to spot the Pycon, thankfully, and kneel down to accept the letter that he held out.

"Why thank you, dear!" At least this one gave some sort of thanks for the hard work that went into his deliveries. "I've been waiting for this for quite a while.. if you ever find yourself tense from your deliveries, please do stop in! Don't worry, I'll keep you away from the water." Just before he moved off, she passed a bright smile that he eagerly returned before jogging at a brisk pace from the baths, still grinning like a fool. Well, he'd certainly found somewhere that he'd visit more often.. but petch, he still had three other Quarters to visit and hardly any time. There wasn't a chance in all of Mizahar that he'd get all of the deliveries made before the day was over...

by **Archailist** on February 14th, 2014, 5:26 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Next, North. He'd decided that much already, though mainly because it was the only other place where there were going to be only one letter delivered to the Quarter. And that just made the whole thing much, much easier - no need to run between different halves of the Quarter, and no need to spend too much time in one place and get caught up in the monks like last time he'd ended up running around. The place was the Sharp Tongue Pub, apparently.. and at least it sounded like somewhere that he wouldn't be beaten up in. First, of course, there was the Bridge of the Dead. Unlike the other bridges, he could simply pass around the few that occupied it and move straight over into the Quarter without so much as a bit of worry, thankfully.

Unfortunately, after passing numerous streets and trying desperately to find the place, he ended up on Iron Avenue. The pub, apparently, was on Steel Street. Wonderful. It took directions from a nearby monk to find the place, although even then he had trouble. It wasn't exactly massive.. not like the other places anyway. A little door, a rather insignificant place that seemed to radiate activity once he slipped inside - and thank Syna that there truly was little activity around the outside compared to those inside, so he could actually just push the door open and walk in without the fear of being stepped on as per usual - but showed none from outside. All the monks seemed drunk and ranting, though he couldn't hear what they were saying. All he could do was hop from table to table with a few jeers and shouts until he stopped on the bar counter and strolled down the full length. "Hey, is there a.. Yeller?" Petch. A false letter, probably just for the laughs of sending some poor delivery boy, namely him, half-way across Nyka and not have anyone to deliver it to. That's what he thought.

But suddenly, and it did seem very suddenly, a monk appeared out of nowhere from behind the bar and neatly plucked the letter from between the squirrels fingers. "That'd be me." He was about to turn around and just leave - after all, he'd delivered the package as requested, but the man seemed to stop him with a hand cupped before his path, instead beckoning him closer. "Don't you want your payment?" He wasn't really sure what to answer, so he simply nodded.. and the man raised his head and cleared his throat. Some of the monks on the nearest table turned up from their words, and he suddenly realized why the place was called the 'Sharp Tongue Pub'.. and what the other monks and travelers were muttering about. They were all quipping riddles, insulting in roundabout fashions when one correctly guessed, or jibing when they didn't. Quite affable, really.. if not for the squirrel being placed on the central podium to be ridiculed. He didn't know a thing about riddles or the like.

"You'll like this one. A squirrel, a monkey and a bird are racing to the top of a coconut tree. Which one will get the banana first, the monkey, the squirrel or the bird?" He just stared for a few moments, trying to think.. and trying to wonder when his payment would arrive. Though, the letter hadn't been marked with any sign that the payment hadn't already been made. None of them had sign of it actually. He'd just have to endure. So, he took a random stab at an answer.

"Uhm.. the squirrel?"Apparently it was the wrong answer, for the barman shook his head and rolled out with a laugh.

"None, my boy. There's no banana in a coconut tree." Of course! He'd made quite a fool of himself for not noticing it sooner, and the monks nearby thought so too, apparently, with their jests and raucous laughter. But the squirrel wasn't about to be outdone either, and thought through everything that he could. He didn't know any riddles, per se.. except for the one that the man had already mentioned. He'd just make one up then! Though.. there wasn't much chance of it working. But he did know something else, a joke really that he'd learned a while ago.

"Alright then.. uhm.. why do squirrels take so much time in trees?" That one had the man stop and think for a few minutes, and frown. It'd worked! Though, it still wasn't much of an actual riddle.. but oh well. No matter, it'd work - it had worked.

"Must say, I've not heard of that one before. Go on, tell me." He was leaning closer in anticipation as well as a few others.

"To get away from all the nuts on the ground." It took a few moments, but there was an uproar shortly after the punchline, including the bartender as well. He couldn't stay around though.. a few more riddles and jokes were exchanged, all of which the squirrel got wrong or didn't understand, before he slipped out of the room with a wave to a few of the other monks and back into the streets to deliver the next letters to the West Quarter.

by **Archailist** on February 14th, 2014, 6:29 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Next, West. He had to pass over the Bridge of the Dead a second time, quite quickly and hopping around the monks that decided to cross it.. or those kneeling at random places, or simply overlooking it to stare down at the Aperture, for whatever reason they had. Didn't matter, there were far too few, since like all others, he'd heard the superstition and rumors of the bridge and what it could do. And once in the Celestial, there was the matter of crossing it and finding the Cursed Bridge to enter the west. It wasn't hard. What had once been a bustling midday rush had calmed down towards the afternoon significantly and now there was barely any activity.. monks were sparse and few between, and even those seemed to be heading back home. He'd need to carry out the orders before all of the shops and other places closed up for the night, or he'd have to deliver them tomorrow. And that was just a recipe for trouble.

The Blinding Lights Studio was next. A rather small little place that took next to no time to find, with small lights illuminating the windows and at least showing that someone was in. However, the monk behind the counter was still working long after the squirrel had crossed through the streets, followed the address on the card and entered the store, and then hopped onto the counter and coughed to show his present. Tinkering away with a few small pieces of golden metal and stones, he was so self-absorbed in his work that he barely seemed to breathe. Unfortunately, the squirrel didn't have time to waste simply watching the man work. So, he had to get drastic and hop down from the front store counter, scurry over to the man and tap on the side of his leg. "Excuse me, sir, bu-" That was as far as he got.

The rather elderly monk startled and nearly fell, hands flailing and nearly sweeping away all of his work over the table. Metal chinked as it struck the floor and rolled about over the floor and even under the table. By the time he'd steadied himself and braced against the table that he'd been working on - which was now scattered liberally with tiny pieces of jewelry that he'd been arranging - his scowl said it all as he watched the small Pycon fishing out the letter from his bag."Sorry.. I'm just here with a letter for you." He presented the letter, the man received it and thanked the squirrel with a courteous nod.. but he couldn't quite abandon the man yet. He quickly picked up one of the jewels that he'd been working with - a dark green stone that the monk took with a nod - before turning and disappearing back into the night. And it was coming dangerously close to being truly night - harder and harder to see where he was going, but he needed to keep going faster and faster. It was a recipe for disaster.

Petch, petch, PETCH. He needed to get quicker with his deliveries, now. And the next place wasn't far away either, so there was at least that. The Stables, for Samantha, whomever that was.

by **Archailist** on February 14th, 2014, 6:43 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

The run there was full sprint. Regardless of the bag flapping about behind him, he needed to pick up the pace. The streets were completely empty now.. and some of the buildings had faded lights. Syna's rays were fading from the sky.. and he still had a whole other Quarter to finish, but thankfully the two were still in the same place, so he'd only need to make one more trip after the Stables, and then he could go back to the Bureau and drop off the bags before hitting the hay at the Hostel.. if their doors would still be open too. Usually deliveries never took this long to complete either.. usually one or two, never a whole stack. He'd arrived early in the morning and it was coming towards nightfall, and he still hadn't finished. He hoped he'd be getting paid extra for all of it.. though some corner of his mind doubted it.

The building, at least, was huge. Unfortunately, that meant that there'd be a lot of time to find the person, even if it meant none at all to find the building she was still, hopefully, in. Row after row of stalls, he sprinted past, but the place only had a few small grooms tending here and there for their last duties. But there was one ordering a small group of boys around, who immediately rounded on the squirrel and scowled. He thought it best to approach, though the man seemed more intent on dealing with a rodent than actually talking. It was only when he started shouting that the stablemaster actually stopped to listen, and even then, he still had a broom poised to swipe at him.

"WAIT! I'm not a real squirrel, I'm a courier! With a delivery for.. Mrs Hazel? Samantha Hazel?" The man grunted and leaned down with his palm presented to the squirrel, but it was obvious that he wasn't offering a ride.

"I'll give it to her. Give it here." He immediately became skeptical and began backing away, but the man was insistent. The small crowd of grooms didn't move from behind - they were more interested in watching what happened.

"You don't look like a Samantha.." One of the grooms snickered and the stablemaster wheeled around to glower at them.. but by the time he'd turned back around, the squirrel was gone - between his legs and around the corner as fast as his legs would manage. He may have been a squirrel but he wasn't stupid - and he certainly wasn't leaving his delivery with that man. He was leaving it with Samantha. Luckily, since the little crowd of grooms had been dispatched already and the squirrel was in danger of being caught up in yet another 'situation', she wasn't far away. A girl, tending to one of the horses, nearly completely out of sight. He'd not noticed her when he'd passed the same spot before, but now her head just peeked out of the gap of the stables to try and find the commotion and why there was a lot of shouting going on. He didn't really have time to explain to her anyway. "Are you Samantha Hazel?"

"Why, yes.. and who are you, hmm?" The girl reminded him of the masseuse in the Baths.. though this one didn't have six arms, at least.

"Courier.. with a letter for you." He passed the letter swiftly to the girl and passed a short glance over his shoulder to make sure nobody was coming. When he turned back, she'd already opened the letter and read through it.. and was busy scratching out a hasty reply on the back. Apparently she didn't even have time to head inside, either.

"Oh dear.. their dog is getting worse. I'll arrange a meeting. Please, send this back as quickly as possible." He didn't know why it was important, but he nodded all the same and her slightly grave expression brightened. Before he could ask thogh, one of the grooms walked around the corner and shouted something - it wasn't at him or the girl, so he had to turn and run across the ledges of the stalls to round the corners faster than the following grooms, straight out of the Stables and towards the Cursed Bridge for a second time.

by **Archailist** on February 14th, 2014, 6:55 pm

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

One last destination. One last delivery, that's what he kept telling himself. If he could do this, cross over Nyka a second time and just finish everything up, then he'd be fine. He'd never actually ventured out at night.. but he'd been warned about it by a few travelers and monks. Told not to do it. He wondered why not, but he didn't really fancy on finding out; better to be safe than sorry and all of that, although he was never a superstitious squirrel by any stretch of the imagination. Perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks. Or the fact that the entire city seemed to be exceptionally superstitious about everything from the bridges to their own city walls and gates.

However, he was back over the Cursed Bridge, straight over the middle of the Celestial Quarter and past the Hostel - and his bed, that he so wished that he could simply drop into right now - and then the Lovers Bridge quick as a dart.. because there was nobody on them. Or anywhere in fact, not on the bridges nor around the corners not anywhere as far as the squirrel could see. The streets had completely emptied, the city was in its final twilight.. the shops around him were closed or in the process of closing. It meant that he didn't have to worry about being stepped on, obviously.. but it also meant that the deliveries were never going to be made if he couldn't find the people that owned the shops that he was supposed to be delivering to! He had to be faaast.. he wasn't going to make it!

The Sacred Flame. It burned before him with hundreds of candles lighting up the front of the store like a beacon. He ran towards it with full force, but he could see the monks inside already preparing to close. It was only by waving his arms frantically in the air and shouting did they stop, after coming outside to shut and lock up the store for the night, that they stopped and watched as he ran to them, completely out of breath and with a pair of letters in his outstretched paws. "Stop! I gotta.. gotta delivery.. deliveries for you.. sorry." Damn, he'd barely made it in time.. but he'd made it in time. Luke and Cecil both took their letters with much thanks and smiles, and the squirrel soon parted ways again.. and now he was done. Except it was far, far too late to consider going back to the Bureau to hand in his things.. he'd just have to go tomorrow and hand them in. Probably take a few more deliveries out in them too. No matter.. although Anđelko was going to be annoyed as petch.

And so, dejectedly and with a rather large slouch, he begun his walk home. He couldn't run.. because he was just exhausted beyond comprehension. And his bag dragged behind him on the red bricks, too.

by **Zandelia** on March 29th, 2014, 10:38 pm

Archailist :

Notes :

Any questions about my grade? Feel free to PM at any time. Keep Writing!