Ayszel descended the slippery depths of Zinrah that led to Marrows shop. The tunnels were unkempt but not likely unsteady, Ayszel reasoned, or a more experienced Reimancer would already have been called upon. However, the rationalization didn’t stop the young Dhani from eyeing the tunnels walls with a cautious distrustful eye.
A shudder padded its way across her spine as she neared the shops entrance. She had never entered the bone filled abode before, too many treacherous and all too wondrous rumors surrounded the place. While the majority of Zinrah was musty and stagnant, in a way the inhabitants no longer noticed, at these depths even Ayszel noticed an increasing must. It was raw and sweaty with an electric buzz that set her teeth on edge. Perhaps it is that foul magic Ayszel thought, or perhaps it is just nerves. she reasoned as she entered. While she knew nothing much of malediction, she had heard the stories and stories where more than enough for the Dhani to acquire an opinion.
The narrow tunnel entrance pressed in on Ayszels shoulders, making her hunch as she made her way in. As she slithered into the shop it grabbed her breath. She had always envisioned the place as a tiny tight hovel, a piece of space stolen from the rest of Zinrah. What she found was an expansive breadth of skulls and a maze of death on shelves.
“Hello?” She called; scared her breath would break the hanging tusks, bones and other unrecognizable remains. Slithering forward her tail rattled against bones littering the ground in piles and her shoulder jostled rats, strung up on sinew, as she flicked her tail away in an attempt to stop the clumsy jostling. It was of course, futile, and as she stared about her stuck in an awkward pose to avoid damaging the fragile and expensive merchandise she missed the gaze for several moments.
His skin was dark, even for a Dhani. His head was starkly bare but he made up for it through the various gold accoutrements adorning his face. I wonder if they have powers... Ayszel wondered as his listless eyes watched her from a distance, silent as the bones. Her forked tongue slithered out for a moment, tasting the air. Her slitted eyes shifted slowly and her large thick serpentine head wavered slightly, disconcerted by the human gaze returning hers. She preferred neither her Dhani or Snake form, both were useful and pleasant in their own right. However, the human form was so rare in Zinrah that both slaves and humanoid form Dhani unnerved her.
“I was sent here from Sitria.” She explained after the silence had stretched out for some time. When her explanation received no visible response from the proprietor she added “I was sent to fix-“
“Shelvesss.” He replied tonelessly.
“Yesss.” Her tongue vibrating as it was extended from her mouth. Why did I have to get such a lousy project... she bemoaned, more worried about her situation that the curiosity of a man before her. Last season, though she had been working with the most insufferable man, she had at least been allowed to work on more interesting tasks under his supervision. Now I’m back to shelves, beds and tables....
Turning his back, he made his way slowly through the mounds of death. His shoulders and feet made much less noise than her long thick tail and broad shoulders. However, even he could not be utterly silent, If he can't be silent in his own shop he should really clean up. she scolded silently, but it had the added benefit of making her far less self conscious about her own racket.
She stared at the ground before her, focusing on weaving through the artifacts. Long cannon bones lay across her path like logs in the forest. Bunching her body slightly she lifted herself up and slowly lowered her torso on the other side of the thick protrusion. She moved forward slowly, watching over her shoulder and gritting her teeth in focus as she slowly lifted each portion of her tail over it. Neither a hunter nor a guard she spent little time in the world above ground and as such wasn't used to the delicate acrobatics required of her body to maneuver in such a fashion. As such, her focus led the side of her head into the sharp end of a horn.
Freezing, the end of her tail stuck in midflex above the cannon bone she recoiled slightly. Eyes wide a thick smooth horn stuck straight out from the shelf toward her forehead. Dead straight between her eyes. She gulped. Moving the last piece of the end of her tail over the cannon bone she slowly turned and eyed the long tunneled catacombs before spotting the glinting gold of his jewelry several rows over.
Moving toward the glinting gold she glanced over her shoulder at the creature she had almost run into. From this angle she could see this time that it wasn't a horn but rather a birds beak. The skull was indecipherable beneath a mask of gold inscriptions but would have taken both of Ayszels large hands to hold. Perhaps it is good that the jungle is not where I lie...[i] she thought to herself, the worst there was to worry about down here were the enormous salamanders.
[i]Oh. Another pile. she noted as she diverted her body to the left to avoid a tumbling pile of large crab exoskeletons each engraved with fine symbols. Craning forward she peered at the piece of paper that hung over them. Protected Possessions the sharp wheeling hand had inscribed. Emboldened Ayszel reached out and lifted one of the crabs to her face, eyeing it curiously. They were remarkably large, larger than any crab she had ever seen. Hollow, Ayszel figured they somehow worked as a jewellery box.
“Aren’t you ssssuposed to work?” The voice was gruff and low, the perfect tone to avoid jostling an unsuspecting client into dropping an item. It worked, though Ayszel fumbled with the shell, she never lost her grip.
“Yesss...of courssse. Where is the sssshelf?” She asked as she gently set the shell down with a dull thump. She followed his finger toward a corner where items lay in more disarray than usual and a crumbling stone shelf several meters long extended two feet from the limestone wall. She sucked in breath through pursed lips making a low whistling sound. It was much more damage than the report had described. Perhaps this wont be so boring afterall... She pondered as she slithered toward the project and coiled, poised before the ramshackle remains as she contemplated the steps necessary to fix the mess.
“What happened?” She asked curiously, though her slitted eyes didn’t waver from the job before her. When he didn’t answer, she broke her concentration and glanced over her shoulder. He was already gone, lost in the catacombs.
A shudder padded its way across her spine as she neared the shops entrance. She had never entered the bone filled abode before, too many treacherous and all too wondrous rumors surrounded the place. While the majority of Zinrah was musty and stagnant, in a way the inhabitants no longer noticed, at these depths even Ayszel noticed an increasing must. It was raw and sweaty with an electric buzz that set her teeth on edge. Perhaps it is that foul magic Ayszel thought, or perhaps it is just nerves. she reasoned as she entered. While she knew nothing much of malediction, she had heard the stories and stories where more than enough for the Dhani to acquire an opinion.
The narrow tunnel entrance pressed in on Ayszels shoulders, making her hunch as she made her way in. As she slithered into the shop it grabbed her breath. She had always envisioned the place as a tiny tight hovel, a piece of space stolen from the rest of Zinrah. What she found was an expansive breadth of skulls and a maze of death on shelves.
“Hello?” She called; scared her breath would break the hanging tusks, bones and other unrecognizable remains. Slithering forward her tail rattled against bones littering the ground in piles and her shoulder jostled rats, strung up on sinew, as she flicked her tail away in an attempt to stop the clumsy jostling. It was of course, futile, and as she stared about her stuck in an awkward pose to avoid damaging the fragile and expensive merchandise she missed the gaze for several moments.
His skin was dark, even for a Dhani. His head was starkly bare but he made up for it through the various gold accoutrements adorning his face. I wonder if they have powers... Ayszel wondered as his listless eyes watched her from a distance, silent as the bones. Her forked tongue slithered out for a moment, tasting the air. Her slitted eyes shifted slowly and her large thick serpentine head wavered slightly, disconcerted by the human gaze returning hers. She preferred neither her Dhani or Snake form, both were useful and pleasant in their own right. However, the human form was so rare in Zinrah that both slaves and humanoid form Dhani unnerved her.
“I was sent here from Sitria.” She explained after the silence had stretched out for some time. When her explanation received no visible response from the proprietor she added “I was sent to fix-“
“Shelvesss.” He replied tonelessly.
“Yesss.” Her tongue vibrating as it was extended from her mouth. Why did I have to get such a lousy project... she bemoaned, more worried about her situation that the curiosity of a man before her. Last season, though she had been working with the most insufferable man, she had at least been allowed to work on more interesting tasks under his supervision. Now I’m back to shelves, beds and tables....
Turning his back, he made his way slowly through the mounds of death. His shoulders and feet made much less noise than her long thick tail and broad shoulders. However, even he could not be utterly silent, If he can't be silent in his own shop he should really clean up. she scolded silently, but it had the added benefit of making her far less self conscious about her own racket.
She stared at the ground before her, focusing on weaving through the artifacts. Long cannon bones lay across her path like logs in the forest. Bunching her body slightly she lifted herself up and slowly lowered her torso on the other side of the thick protrusion. She moved forward slowly, watching over her shoulder and gritting her teeth in focus as she slowly lifted each portion of her tail over it. Neither a hunter nor a guard she spent little time in the world above ground and as such wasn't used to the delicate acrobatics required of her body to maneuver in such a fashion. As such, her focus led the side of her head into the sharp end of a horn.
Freezing, the end of her tail stuck in midflex above the cannon bone she recoiled slightly. Eyes wide a thick smooth horn stuck straight out from the shelf toward her forehead. Dead straight between her eyes. She gulped. Moving the last piece of the end of her tail over the cannon bone she slowly turned and eyed the long tunneled catacombs before spotting the glinting gold of his jewelry several rows over.
Moving toward the glinting gold she glanced over her shoulder at the creature she had almost run into. From this angle she could see this time that it wasn't a horn but rather a birds beak. The skull was indecipherable beneath a mask of gold inscriptions but would have taken both of Ayszels large hands to hold. Perhaps it is good that the jungle is not where I lie...[i] she thought to herself, the worst there was to worry about down here were the enormous salamanders.
[i]Oh. Another pile. she noted as she diverted her body to the left to avoid a tumbling pile of large crab exoskeletons each engraved with fine symbols. Craning forward she peered at the piece of paper that hung over them. Protected Possessions the sharp wheeling hand had inscribed. Emboldened Ayszel reached out and lifted one of the crabs to her face, eyeing it curiously. They were remarkably large, larger than any crab she had ever seen. Hollow, Ayszel figured they somehow worked as a jewellery box.
“Aren’t you ssssuposed to work?” The voice was gruff and low, the perfect tone to avoid jostling an unsuspecting client into dropping an item. It worked, though Ayszel fumbled with the shell, she never lost her grip.
“Yesss...of courssse. Where is the sssshelf?” She asked as she gently set the shell down with a dull thump. She followed his finger toward a corner where items lay in more disarray than usual and a crumbling stone shelf several meters long extended two feet from the limestone wall. She sucked in breath through pursed lips making a low whistling sound. It was much more damage than the report had described. Perhaps this wont be so boring afterall... She pondered as she slithered toward the project and coiled, poised before the ramshackle remains as she contemplated the steps necessary to fix the mess.
“What happened?” She asked curiously, though her slitted eyes didn’t waver from the job before her. When he didn’t answer, she broke her concentration and glanced over her shoulder. He was already gone, lost in the catacombs.
