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[Noah Amuel]

2nd of Fall, 515

Noah turned the parchment in his hands over and over. The parchment was yellowed by age and held a single, simple wax seal on it that kept it folded over and made it impossible for Noah to peek at its contents without disturbing the sensitive material of the paper. The letter was meant for a man by the name of Audolf, a merchant here in Syliras on business. According to the writer of the letter, the supposed receiver was to be found here in the Bazaar of Syliras, yet gave no description of what they looked like. Noah was on his own in that regard for the writer of the letter seemed to be in quite the hurry after he handed the letter off.

The Kelvic was desperate for some hint in the right direction and the uproarious loudness of the Bazaar made it impossible for him to differentiate one discussion or trade from the next. He stood lankily in the middle of the bazaar. Stalls where lined up next to other stalls and people paraded about like they knew exactly what they were doing. In fact, Noah assumed that they did know exactly what they were doing. He, on the other hand, did not. He felt helpless within a sea of bobbing heads – many shorter than his own.

After a time of being walked around and glared at by the bazaar's patrons did he finally decide to move with the flow of the tide. The tide, or the people, kept to their respective sides. Those that where going up the hall stayed to the right, those that were going down stayed to the left. Noah stayed the right and so he went right. He walked in time with someone in front of him while he swiveled his head from side to side, watching carefully for anyone he would think to be named Audolf. Then it struck him, he didn't know what an Audolf would even look like. Honestly, to him, it sounded like a gruff man with a portly belly and a beard that was birthed from a trail that led to the hair atop his balding head.

None of the merchants appeared to match the image within his head and so he sighed and withdrew from the river of people at the next corner. He clung to the cobblestone wall with his back as the people walked in front of him with their own motivations in mind. Noah bit on his bottom lip in thought and shot his eyes up and down the rows of stalls on either side of the grand hall that was the bazaar within the bowels of the castle city that was Syliras. I need help he thought anxiously.

Quickly the situation was turning into the least favorable position of all for him, an avian Kelvic. This responsibility was proving to be too much of a hassle for him and he was very ready to give up on the assignment completely, referring it to another courier within the city if he did so. He put the sealed letter in one hand and flexed the fingers on his free hand eagerly. There was tension in the bones. It was caused by the sheer want to retire from the assignment, hand it off to another, and have them deal with it along with the want to incorporate himself further into the city and have the culture embrace him.

He was a bird, a predator, a loner. This city was not for him and it seemed to damn him every time he tried to break free of the supposed predetermined fate that the gods had put in course for him. The Kelvic took a moment or two to steel himself against the broiling emotions before rejoining the crowd, letter in hand, in search of the receiver, Audolf.

[Asher Claveson]

The pace of the Bazaar was peculiar in how it soothed Asher's mind. It was fast enough he had to focus on keeping with the flow, but slow enough that he didn't exhaust himself. Considering he had been born in this city, though, he guessed that such a pace was not one others were used to. His childhood as a page certainly made the Bazaar seem relaxing. The cacophony of voices advertising wares and bartering the prices down was nothing more than a pleasant hum and allowed Asher to focus on his mental shopping list rather than... other thoughts that he wasn't going to dwell on.

He needed more hunting arrows, perhaps a sighting lens and a small animal snare as well. Maybe even a fishing kit, since it wouldn't hurt to expand his skill in hunting. The press of the crowd made it a little difficult to see the wares, even for one as tall as him, but he wasn't in a big hurry. Well, okay, perhaps he was rather impatient in finding a translator or a teacher, but he was not focusing on that today. Meyarra would want him to relax every now and then.

So Asher had made a pass or two around the Bazaar, taking in the look of the other items that were being sold. He briefly wondered if he could find any maps for other regions, but quickly dispelled the thought when he heard a book merchant in a heated argument with a young traveler about the rarity of maps for this region, let alone other regions. He mentally shrugged to himself and decided that if he ever wished to learn about Lhavit's location, he'd have to rely on the word of others. It couldn't possibly be that far away, could it? Meyarra said she was born there and came here to Syliras at a young age. It must have just been a season at most of traveling for her family. No. He was not thinking about this. He was here in the Bazaar to buy hunting supplies and then he was going to put those supplies to use.

As Asher rounded the next corner he caught sight of someone clinging to the outskirts of the walking lane. A young man, tall and slender, turned his head to and fro as if he was looking for a familiar face. Such a sight was not uncommon, but was often reserved for young children who had wandered too far from their mothers. The usual reaction to such a sight was to ignore it unless directly spoken to, and Asher nearly did that, if not for seeing the look in the man's eyes once he got a bit closer. The stranger looked restless, anxious to be rid of this place. His eyes swept over the people as if he wished to no longer be an outsider, but there was a resignation about him. Asher realized that this look was one he recognized because it was what he felt frequently. Yes, Slyrias was his birthplace, and he knew it very well, but it had no longer been his home. He was an outsider to his own people, as much as he wished to push against it. But a man who gave into his deeper emotions was a weak man, which meant Asher's grief would forever push him away from others. It was his fate to be ignored.

That is, if he stayed in Syliras.

Asher shook his head, passing the man by. Who was he kidding? He was stuck in Syliras. He had no skills to offer others, not enough money to keep himself fed and travel about. It just wasn't done. He would be ignored until he “toughened up” and pushed his grief away. Until he gave up the “silly dream” that kept him going most days. Such a horrid existence that would be. And yet it was his.

He continued for some time until he came across some arrows that, despite the shape of their fletching, were definitely hunting arrows. He shifted slightly out of the crowd, glancing over them carefully. He'd once bought arrows that were lighter than most, but it turned out to be due to the arrowheads themselves, rather than the type of wood used as the merchant assured. He swore never to make the same mistake, to examine the arrows carefully before he even considered purchasing.

At that moment, a body shoved into him enough to force him to move a few steps or else fall. Asher sighed, gritting his teeth. “Really? As if the Bazaar's not crowded enough, you have to go-” Asher cut off when he finally got a look of the culprit. It was that young man from earlier, looking rather startled at where he ended up. “Oh. Sorry. Looks like you found one of the cracks in the cobblestone, yeah?”

[Noah Amuel]

Noah was very much lost in thought when he found his own lithe frame propelled and jostled by someone behind him. There was a mass of giggling children underfoot weaving between the flowing crowd, bumping into its patrons and behaving in what Noah thought to be a chaotic way in an already disorderly area. He took his mind of his foot placement and watched the heads of the children as they disappeared between the folds of clothing that belonged to the bodies within the river. It was then that he rammed right into another man with as much force as his thin being could muster.

The Kelvic whirled as he found the footing that so deftly avoided him for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he had started to say before the man had prattled off in seemingly angry chiding in a language that was foreign to the Kelvic’s ears. “I said I was sorry,” he replied to the man’s foreign language with a voice that held true apologeticness. Noah felt his brows furrow from distaste in his own actions and the feeling of flight caused his heart to beat at an extraordinary pace. This incident was the last straw in the assignment and he was looking forward to giving it away to the next brave courier. Maybe they’d have an easier time finding the recipient of the letter seeing as most of them were far more familiar with the city than him.

It was in the trice following his own thoughts did the man speak again. “Oh. Sorry. Looks like you’ve found one of the cracks in the cobblestone, yeah?” he voiced. Noah stood for an instant, processing what was said to him. ‘Cracks in the cobblestone’? What does that mean? Noah wondered. Then he figured that he shouldn’t just stand there staring at the man without answering in some way.

“What’d you say?” Noah mustered, hoping that he had heard the man incorrectly the first time. The hustle and bustle of the bazaar made that quite a possibility. The Kelvic glanced to the stall that the man was standing before and felt the eyes of the merchant heading it fall briefly on him before flashing away to the raging river behind Noah. Noah felt as if he was intruding on his territory in a way because he had not wished to buy anything from the stall as it was useless to him.

The Kelvic glossed over the merchant’s inventory. The stall possessed arrows made from different woods with different types of metal acting as the piercing point for them. Even as a hunter, he relied on talons that did not dull compared to arrows that did and would sometimes break off in the hides of those they slew. He knew his talons would never do that given how young he was. He wasn’t quite in the prime of his life, but he knew he was on his way up to that point.

Regardless of himself not needing the arrows he stepped further towards the man and the stall in order to eject himself completely from the traffic.

[Asher Claveson]

Asher's frown mirrored the man's as he stepped closer, asked him to repeat what he said. He glanced back to the crowd and guessed that for someone not used to the Bazaar, the noise was difficult to hear through. Okay, maybe Asher also had some trouble hearing someone's words clearly some days. Couldn't fault the young man for that.

“I said you probably caught one of the cracks in the cobblestone. The floor.” He pointed back to where the man tripped into him, where the flow of people had been either stepping over or avoiding altogether. “Sometimes the stomping that goes on in here can be too much for the floor. It gets cracked and then the cobblestones raise up to make the floor uneven.” Asher shrugged. “Happens to everyone if it gets to be too chaotic.” As he turned back to the arrows, he noted a piece of parchment clutched rather tightly in the man's hand. If he cared about the letter to be clutching it like that, then maybe he'd be using two hands. No, something told Asher the stranger was holding it against his will at this point.

Asher knew he should have kept to his own business, let the man go on his way. That's the “proper” way of doing things, because it's just not “polite” to get into the dealings of others. But Asher remembered the look on the man's face earlier, the resignation and the confusion. The man needed help, and he knew for sure these other people wouldn't bother trying. Besides, what would Meyarra do?

“Looking to deliver that to someone?” Asher asked, turning back to the man. “If it were for some common fellow, I think you'd be dropping it off to their apartment, but you're here. You need to deliver it to a merchant?” The merchants would change places similar to how the crowd moved about them. Their faces, however, were recognizable if you came to the Bazaar often enough. Very rarely were they replaced with new merchants. For someone who's only been a handful of times, it would make sense if they couldn't find the merchant they were looking for.

[Noah Amuel]

Noah glanced to where the man had pointed and nodded. He understood now and felt slightly sour that it took him so long. He chalked it up to the bazaar frustrating him greatly. It threw off the human façade that he was trying to put across to a point. He still appeared human, spoke like a human, and acted like one, but every moment in the bazaar was eating away at his patience and effort to blend in.

Attentively he listened to the red haired man’s explanation on why the cobblestone would act in such a bizarre way. It made sense, given that Syliras was very old and traffic that it experienced on a daily basis was apparently overwhelming. At first glance it appeared that every body that made up the traffic was in a hurry but upon further inspection Noah noted that they all seemed quite calm. They were confident of where they were going and what they were doing unlike the Kelvic boy.

The man turned back to the fletching presented to them on the table. Noah turned with him, grateful to have found someone giving him the time of day at least. This moment also served as a break for him. Where he had been on edge, he found himself relaxing a bit though his eyes still show the panic of a child without its mother. That’s how he felt too – like a child. Even though he wasn’t actually lost within the city, for he knew where he was, he was lost within the bazaar which suggested that it was a different place altogether. It was like a city within the city. It required its own road map and directions to specific stalls along with a daily update on where merchants moved to everyday.

Noah rubbed his thumb on the wax seal of the letter and canted his head from side to side. The bones in his neck cracked and relieved pent up tension from previously transpired events. He peered down the line of stalls, starting from the stall adjacent to the fletching one, but resigned himself to not knowing what the specified merchant in mind looked like. Audolf, he thought to himself, not even sure if he was pronouncing the name correctly. Even though he was fluent in Common the various names he met during his life in Syliras proved to be very different from those in Zeltiva. Some were unique others were down right bizarre. Audolf sounded bizarre to the boy.

“Huh?” Noah grunted to the man when he inquired. Noah didn’t know what he was referring to until he looked at the letter in his own hand. He had been tracing over the wax seal with his index finger absentmindedly. “Yes,” he replied again, properly this time. “A merchant. Yes.” Noah turned the letter over in his hands before showing the inscription on it to the man. The inscription, in messy writing, read: 'To Audolf, merchant of steel wares and cutlery.' Who it was from was not on the letter at all. There was just the seal, one that Noah did not recognize. “What is cutlery?” he asked the man, curious eyes peeking from behind furrowed brows.

[Asher Claveson]

Asher noted, as the man brought up the letter for him to read, that there was something slightly off. He carried himself similar to a man, but the tilt to his head and the way he settled on his feet said he was a bit more than that. It was hard to tell, and perhaps it shouldn't be his place to ask. So Asher turned back to the letter and read the address: “To Audolf, merchant of steel wares and cutlery.” Ah, okay. He wasn't the best with names, but “steel wares and cutlery” gave him an idea of where the merchant would be. Asher wouldn't say that they were close to the area, but it wasn't on the other side of the Bazaar either.

The man asked about cutlery, and Asher raised a brow. Wasn't that something everyone had usually? Perhaps it just wasn't called that outside of Syliras? “Forks, spoons, dinner knives,” he answered. “That sort of thing. But that should give you a good idea of where things are.” Then again, this young man was looking about like he'd never been here before. “I could show you where he might be at?”

It wouldn't hurt to help out. He wasn't looking to buy any food or other perishables, and so he could put off shopping for the moment. And it could put his mind off things better than just milling around by himself.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

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Ferrin

Ferrin felt like a change of pace, instead of hunting everyday which he would normally do, he figured that he should purchase new arrows for himself, or maybe a whole new hunting suit. One of the employees who has Been working at the Heralds Arms have instructed Ferrin to go to the Bazaar, which is here. Ferrin stopped just gazing at all the busy people walking by.

This is a lot busier than home, Ferrin thought with a slight smile. He roamed the aged streets of Sylrias to follow the directions that were given to him, going pass him are people after people, some with hoods up and some with none, but also their were people with all different sizes and races, different colored hairs. And a lot of other physical features that don't need to be explained.

Ferrin turned down another street browsing the Bazaar, for the hunting shop, Ferrin was told that he could find great items for great purchases. Maybe he should purchase a nice outfit or two instead of wearing these wrinkled and damp like clothes.

He needs something suitable for this new weather that is sprouting up soon. Maybe he would find something his size? Ferrin thought. As Ferrin took another turn down a small pathway filled with cobblestone and buildings on either side of him, he was surprised that there wasn't very much light on this path. Eventually Ferrin spotted an arrow tip... But he noticed that their were two people having a conversation of some sort, with all the people walking pass him it is hard to get where he needed.

He sighed as he gets halfway through the street while pushy people are trying to get from place to place. The sun beating down on Ferrins neck is making him sweat a bit, but he is used to the sweat, training with his father in the outskirts of home.

Ferrin eventually made it to the little shop that was set outside on the beaten pathway. He accidentally tripped and tumbled over as a group of people were passing by and stumbled into a red hair man, and was very close to toppling over another slender looking man. Ferrins curly hair hitting his face making it a bit challenging to see where he was going "Watch out!" Ferrin was manageable to make out. Luckily the trip want to bad. And the two were hopefully able to recover since Ferrin has a broadened body he is a bit heavy to others that aren't very strong...

Ferrin stood up and took out his hand after rubbing his on his pants. "Sorry about that sir can I help you up, I just needed to get some arrows." Ferrin tried to raise his voice as loud as he could get it with all of these people walking about. Ferrin tilted his head to the slender looking man holding a piece of parchment with a tight grasp. Ferrins sword is still buckled on an sheathed, but he is no Soldier. He is just an ordinary hunter like every other one, and if this was a way to meet people, he could do better, without many other people walking and pushing him.

As Ferrin waited for a response from either, he included, "Sorry for this rude interruption I'm a little new to this part of Sylrias, in fact this is my first day, I am truly sorry, to the both of you if there is anything that I can do to help I would gladly." He smiles once more still giving his hand out to the red haired man.

"My name is Ferrin, Ferrin Al' Mandrikan. Sorry once again for the intrusion."


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"Pavi" | "Common
"Tukant"

[Noah Amuel]

Noah nodded along with the red haired man’s words as he explained what cutlery was. The terms that he listed were familiar to Noah, even though he didn’t use them every day. What was the use of cutlery when you ate your meals in the woods, surrounded by swaying grass and dirt? The man was right, though, it should give him a good idea of what to look for, but as he careened his head to look around over the tops of others’ heads, he saw metal everywhere. Despite his eyesight being as good as it was, it couldn’t make out the wares on far off tables with all the noise, commotion, and distractions.

He gave up. The man’s offer would be better to take. “Could you, please?” he asked, voice overlaid with innocent pleading. “I just want to be rid of it all,” he admitted afterwards. “I don’t like it here.”

It was then that Noah’s head whirled to the sound of shoes scuffling on cobblestone as another man shouted for Noah and his new companion to watch out. Deftly Noah stepped backwards enough to clear himself of the man’s propelling body. It was a quick and quiet motion, much rehearsed in his time as an eagle. Unfortunately for Noah’s new companion, it appeared that he would be taking the brunt of the clumsy man’s force unless he acted quickly to avoid it.

The Kelvic remained quiet as the new man recovered from his stumble, wiping his hands on his trousers before extending a hand out to Noah’s temporary friend, offering to help him up if he was harmed by the tumbling of bodies. He expressed that he just wanted to get some arrows. Noah glanced to the stall that held fletching and then back to the clumsy man. Help yourself he thought quietly, but kept his thoughts inside his head.

The man then informed Noah and his friend that he was new to Syliras, that, in fact, it was his first day here. The Kelvic couldn’t help but feel a bit relieved to meet another newcomer, even though, he himself, wasn’t exactly new to Syliras; it had just been his first time really trying to understand the castle city. The clumsy man then smiled to Noah and his friend. Noah returned the smile, small and swift.

The clumsy man introduced himself as Ferrin Al’Mandrikan and apologized once more to the two of them. Noah raised a hand to dismiss the apology, as if saying “it’s nothing” “do not worry about it”. While he waited for his friend to respond to Ferrin’s introduction, Noah took the time to look over Ferrin with a slow crawl of his sharp orbs for eyes up and down Ferrin’s body. Noah took note of a sword tucked into a sheath and a mop of curly hair atop the man’s head. He continued his gaze in silence, occupying his hands with the letter.

[Samuel Longwell]

Grading Complete Please edit your grade request thread so that it's obvious that it's been graded. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions/problems with your grade. Name: Noah XP Award: Socialisation 3 Observation 2 Lore: The Bazaar: A loud, confusing place Cutlery: What humans use to eat with The Bazaar: An easy place to trip Notes: Please could you list the seasons of your seasonal expenses, as the way you have done it makes it much more time consuming to see whether you have paid the correct amount of expenses. Short and sweet thread, a shame that it tailed off. Enjoy your grade. Name: Ferrin XP Award: Socialisation 1 Lore: The Bazaar: An easy place to trip Notes: A mini appearance for Ferrin! Enjoy your grade. Name: Asher Seasonal expenses not paid, grade withheld. PM me if you reappear.