Closed [The Stallion's Rear] New City and New People (Teli)

[Terag]

15th of Summer, 517AV - Evening Terag was slowly beginning to get frustrated with the city as he continued to wander, through the city due to him being lost. Although in Alvadas there wasn't really such a concept of being lost, but rather that you just haven't found where you're going just yet. Either way, it was annoying all the same to the Isur as he continued through the streets. He was amazed he had manged to settle what he was doing for a place to rest and work before the day was through, but now he just wanted something to drink as what they had on the boat over to Alvadas was not good in the slightest and didn't even manage to give him a buzz. Although, that was more likely due the fact that he couldn't even finish the whole mug he had been given at the time due to the taste. He was sure the city was taunting him, purposely making sure he couldn't find a place to buy a mug of ale. It felt as if a bell had past before he finally found a store again: The Stallion's Rear. "Why would you name a store after the butt of an animal? They have to sell alcohol, you wouldn't come up with a name like that without having at least a full pitcher of silverwine," Terag mumbled to himself as he trudged forward into the building finally feeling a bit hopeful that he might have a drink before the day was through. His exhasperated prayers were answered as he looked around and found the bar, to which he quickly approached and ordered himself a mug of ale. He had to side step a few patrons as he made his way, but otherwise he went directly to his destination and set a silver Miza onto the counter and getting 2 copper Mizas in return. Terag tried to go over the math briefly in his head, ten minus eight equals two. Satisfied Terag nodded and pocketed the change and then picked up the mug of ale that had been set in front of him. "Thank you very much, the drink is deeply appreciated!" After a long sip of the ale, and a very satisfied sigh after, Terag turned to find himself a table to sit at. Close to the door so he could watch the patrons come and leave and perhaps find someone new to talk to. It wasn't always easy, but the best way to get started in a new city was to make a friend - a lesson he wished he had learned earlier in Syliras. As he mentally reminded himself that he should smile, humans liked smiling, he began to hum and sing to himself as well. It was a bit louder than his usual but by no means disruptive or much louder than talking to a friend, but it was another song from his home. "When you're far from home, No longer how alone you feel, Remember there's a place you can go, a place to work with steel. Every one has their place, a place where they belong, and ours is at the forge, and that's why we sing this song." Ledger : -8CM

[Teli A'Faya]

Day, Season, 516 AV
Dusk, Alvadas
"Speech"

Teli, fidgeting with her hands after a long day of fishing, had decided that today was a day of celebration. She had caught enough fish to last a few more days than usual, so it was time to take the afternoon off and head into the city.
She shuddered for a moment. The city. Getting anywhere could be a mess—something she still hadn’t fully adjusted to. But the city, in her mind, reacted to where it felt you needed to be. So she thought of merry singing and drinking, but also of quietness. Of background laughter and chatter, not loud front-and-center bards and jesters entertaining a crowd, but of folks making their own enjoyment. And, unintentionally, she thought of home.
She wandered through the city for a while, stopping to look at some knickknacks as she passed Matilda’s Jewels before clearing her mind and trying again. She often ended up at the knickknack store if her mind was cluttered. This time, she turned the corner and saw “The Stallion’s Rear”. Perfect—she had already eaten.
As she appeared the door, she caught the end of a broad man singing:

“Every one has … place,
a place where they …,
and ours is at the forge,
and that's why we … this …."

Her interest peaked, she eyed the Isur. He seemed to be smiling—a bit tense, but smiling. Her Isur was very poor, but the melody was still catchy.
“You seem to be running a bit low on ale, there” she said to his half full glass. “If I buy you another, may I sit with you and listen?” She asked. She was less timid than most Konti, but there was still an air of calmness around her. She may have been more on edge if she did not feel certain that this man would not turn her away. ”My Isur is very poor, but even I could feel the sense of longing for a place in that song. That’s why I’m here—in Alvadas. I feel my Calling pulling me here, but I haven’t found it yet.”

[Terag]

Terag had taken another long sip of his ale after the end of the verse, setting the mug onto the table with a soft thud. He looked over the lip of the drink to find it to be half empty, its state something that was shortly mentioned by another. He had seen the new comer come in during his song, but he must of missed her approach as he took another drink of his ale. Quickly he looked her over twice, the first to decide if she was a threat and the second to get a better account of who or what was standing before him. To him, she appeared nothing more than another human with delicate skin and hair whiter than shining silver, as he had little knowledge of what a konti was and any of her tell-tale scales were currently hidden from view. In her face she almost would seem a tad grumpy, if somewhat furrowed brows weren't already the norm for Isurians due to their bony ridges. After he decided she was not a threat and was nothing more than another curious human, he took a moment to think over what she had said, raising one eyebrow in amused interest. To her the whole process likely took a few moments, but he finally spoke up in common and nodded as he did so, "I suppose I have no reason to turn down a drink. I could always sing the song again I suppose, although it is just finished. I have others I can sing as well, the fact that you understand any of them is interesting. Not many non-Isurians, humans no less, take an interest in learning our language unless they are smiths and work with an Isur or want to trade with our city. But you are right, it is a song of longing. No, that is not the right word. A song from home, that you can find a place to be even if you are not home. But yes. If you wish to listen I can sing another I suppose, although I am not used to performing for others, or we can talk about things in this city, or whatever else you wish to talk about. A good drink loosens many tongues, right?" He did his best to smile a bit and await for the woman to leave and return with some more ale for him to drink, taking another sip of his mug while he waited. When she returned Terag spoke up once more, "I do have a question first for you though, before I will let you request listening to a song in specific, or one in general, or a question or perhaps begin to yell about your day. No, not yell. Rant? Something like that. When you say 'calling', do you mean your job? Like the smiths in Syliras said that all Isurian's calling is to be a smith?"

[Teli A'Faya]

Day, Season, 516 AV
Time, Location
"Speech"

Returning with the mugs and taking a seat, Teli pondered for a moment about what the Isur had said. “So it is more a song of… homesickness? My Isurian is very basic, so the tones and exact meanings, especially of idioms, are often lost on me. My knowledge of the language is purely academic, so you’ll have to forgive my curiosity. I’ve rarely seen it outside of tomes.” She paused and took a sip—only a small grimace followed. She had not gotten used to the ale here in Alvadas, yet. It always seemed to have a harsher taste to her than the ale she was used to from back home. But, she figured it was an acquired thing and was giving it a chance. She braced herself and took another sip. She smiled ever so slightly, noting that it did seem to be growing on her slowly. The first time she’d had a drink at The Stallion’s Rear, she’d nearly spit it out.

She looked back up from her mug to the Isur. “The Call is something specific to my people I believe, though I don’t know much about other races. That and finding a mate are basically the only reason that Konti leave their homes. It sounds…” Teli paused, thinking for a moment. Was an Isur’s smithing like The Call? It wasn’t something she’d ever heard of. The Call always referred to advising someone, but perhaps all Konti were advisors like all Isur were smiths? Teli tilted her head, ”Perhaps somewhat similar in a racially specific way. For my people, it’s always an advisory role. But I guess for your people it could also be smithing, in a similar fashion. Certainly not the same,” she shook her head slightly while she talked, taking another small drink, ”But perhaps a fair analogy, none the less.”.

Between the discussion of the song, and the discussion of The Call, Teli was thinking about home and her mother. She glanced toward the Isur’s left, drifting into thought for a moment and remembering fishing with her mother and other Konti. Simpler times, before The Call had started nagging at her. Her need for companionship hadn’t hit her as hard as it had hit others she grew up with, but her Call had hit her harder than her the others, to her knowledge. But each Konti was very different, and she knew there were plenty of people suffering that she could help by leaving Mura.

Snapping back into reality, Teli smiled sheepishly; not only had she spaced out, but she realized she did not even know the name of the man in front of her. “I’m Teli A’Faya, by the way,” she said, her eyes almost laughing at the situation. They had jumped straight into topics of homesickness and The Call of the Konti, bypassing pleasantries altogether. “Are you in Alvadas to be a smith, then? How long have you lived here?” If she was going to sit with this man and converse, she figured it may be best to also get the basics down.

[Terag]

Terag smiled as he took one of the mugs from Teli, taking a long drink to finish his own mug that he had purchased earlier and then taking a sip from the new one as well. It was good to have some ale after all. He smiled softly as well, as he continued to listen to Teli talk. He could never truly shake the scholar part of him that his father had tried to raise, and learning new things or hearing about new things always kept him entertained and happy. He also noted that she grimaced a bit at the sip of her own ale, before smiling. A strange person, perhaps she was not used to the taste of ale? If so why force herself? Perhaps she found new information as interesting as he did. "Now let me see if I can word this correctly. The song is somewhat one of being homesick, yes. But it more has the meaning of you can find somewhere to belong or somewhere that brings you ease even away from home. For many Isur it is the forge, I find that nothing brings a better feeling than shaping something beautiful with my own hands. Make enough of your own things and wherever you are becomes your own place, right?" Terag took another drink as she went on to explain what the calling was for her people, it seemed something similar to what he had thought. Something that many of her own people tried to do? An interesting thought, though the way she described it was a little bit different. When she said 'advisors' it left a bad taste in his mouth as he thought of the stories of his own clan, and a few of the 'advisors' that liked to twist things for darker means. He had to remind himself that not all people were bad despite the many stories he had been told by other Isurian children that they had learned from their parents about the Pitrius. "I think I understand now, at least I hope you do. If you mean it in such a way as advisors, then for us it would probably be something closer to creator." He was silent for a moment as he tried to figure out exactly how to translate the word to common. "I believe the direct translation is creator or crafter, but it has a bit more of a meaning than that. It refers to someone who makes things themselves. We are a race of them, a race who loves to make things, anything from a beautiful song to a sharp sword. I think that is how I would understand it at any rate." He gave her a bit of a smile as he thought it over more, if her people took to advising like his did to creating then perhaps it was not a bad idea. After all, for an Isurian there are seldom things so important as making something new or perfecting their craft and their bodies. "Also, if I might ask. Who are the Konti, other than your people? There are a fair few of the other races that I know so little about myself. I hope I am not offending to ask? And I assume the call and mating are very important to your kind, if it is the only reason to leave wherever you come from? A strange thing to focus on to be sure, but important to all of us to be sure." Terag smiled a bit and chuckled some as well after his last comment, partly because he should probably be happy he was not in the city of the Konti if finding mates was so important. He still needed to work on being able to be serious about females. Terag just sort of watched Teli as she seemed to drift away from the conversation. He kept watching with a raised eyebrow as he took another long sip from his drink, about half way through it now, as he patiently waited for her to return. Sometimes these moments were essential to break-through for one's craft after all and he should not interrupt. Besides, waiting a few moments was nothing and patience was something highly valued. When she smiled a bit afterwards, she almost seemed embarrassed before she introduced herself. At that moment he smiled wide, realizing in that moment that he had completely forgotten to introduce himself as well. "Ah! Teli A'Faya," her last name was nearly butchered by his accented common, "a good name. My name is Terag Magehand, a pleasure." He switched his mug to his right hand, so that he could reach his left hand across the table to shake hers. "And to answer your question, yes. I am a smith by trade, though I am here to learn as much as I can. I had hoped the city of illusions would have lots of knowledge of other things I can learn to crafts. Maybe I will find myself a book on how to make a clock or something else to make gears, got to watch another smith metal work a set of gears for someone in Syliras once. They seem interesting, I want to know how they work. Either way, before I ramble on too long I have only been in Alvadas for not even a day now. I got off the boat this morning actually, as fresh to the city as can be. What about you, Teli? Are you an advisor then? And how long have you made this confusing city your home?"