• Graded • War?

Alex prepares for War and has an Encounter

Etzos, ‘The City of Stones’ is a fortress against the encroachment of Immortal domination of Idalos. Founded on the backs of mortals driven to seek their own destiny independent of the Immortals, the city has carved itself out of the very rock of the land. Scourged by terrible wars of extermination, they've begun to grow again, and with an eye toward expansion, optimism is on the rise.

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Vluharqih
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Arc 716, 32nd Trial of Saun
Alex closed her door firmly, glancing around the deserted streets as she locked, unlocked and locked it again.

It never hurts to be careful, she thought as she headed out.

The heavy heat was oppressive, wrapping its humid coils around Alex as she strode down the wide roads. It was still two breaks before the sun would fully be above the horizon, but the unending twilight that shrouded the city lit her path clearly. Her eyes drifted shut as her feet carried her down the path she had trod less than five breaks earlier.

Ever since the Race, Mr.Gardener had seen the writing on the wall. Before Alex had even made it back he had already sent out orders for crates of supplies, realizing that there would be a massive increase in how many healing poultices and remedies he would sell. Since then, they had been working sixteen and eighteen break trials, barely resting. They ate bites when they could steal away from their pots, and Alex was wrung out. Mr.Gardener had been more determined than Alex, and many times Alex would return in the morning only to find him in the same position, having made dozens of draughts or poultices while she slept.

She pushed open the door and headed straight for the back, her mind finally starting to wake up. The dark room wasn't lit, but after spending so long toiling in the small room over the past few weeks, she knew her way around. She hunted around , eyes straining in the darkness until she finally found and lit a lantern. Warm light spread over the cluttered work surface, and she sat down heavily on a nearby stool to figure out her next steps.

Her eyes drifted shut, and she had to force them open several times before exasperation won out.

Enough of this. I need to focus.

She popped the top off one of the many crates haphazardly piled in the workroom, fishing out a handful of berries. They were Brain Berries, a useful plant that worked as a mental assistant. They reduced the effects of sleep loss, among other things, and worked infinitely better than coffee or alcohol. She crunched down, feeling them burst beneath her teeth, the odd sweetness melting away to leave her mouth feeling dry and pasty.

It had been one of Mr.Gardener's earliest experiments- seeing what common medical remedies would work on a Yludih. Several had worked, but many had just resulted in her feeling ill for trials. As most of them required something to be wrong in the first place, she had been subject to illnesses and injuries galore. Brain Berries were, thankfully, one of the few that worked on her.

The effect instantly rushed through her body as they hit her asterism and were absorbed. It felt like a tingle, starting in her toes and rolling through her body as if it were a massive wave. She blinked, her earlier weariness vanishing like water under the sun.

Finally attentive, she looked around the chaotic workroom.

Where do I even begin?

Mr.Gardener had somehow been keeping track of everything, and several crates were neatly stacked on the wall, full of various remedies. But he wasn't there, and she guessed he was sleeping downstairs. She shrugged as her eyes fell on the case of Rockmoss that lay unopened. Though she had never personally made the Rockmoss Tea that was so valuable for drastically healing broken bones, Mr.Gardener had talked about it several times, and she knew the premise. In essence, it simply required grinding up the rocks, and measuring out the correct amount into the teabags that were stacked under the counter.

She pulled out the heavy mortar and pestle, her sore muscle protesting. She had spent innumerable breaks grinding up some plant or another recently, and she was beginning to see muscles she didn't even know she had. She turned to the box and grabbed one of the pots. The growers had realized a trick when it came to Rockmoss. The bone-healing properties of the rocks in its roots weren't found until the plant was at least a foot in diameter and some enterprising gardener had long ago struck upon the idea of simply planting it in a pot that was just over a foot in diameter. This made their job easier, and allowed for far easier transportation of the plants. She upended the pot over the bowl gently shaking it to dislodge the rocks from its intricate root systems.

When every last bit of the miraculous dirt was scooped out, the fun part began. The bowl had a flexible lid, used to cover it when dust would try to escape. The lid had a hole that the pestle sat in, allowing it to grind the small rocks down into powder. It soon settled into a rhythm, and she felt her mind drift as the bits ticked slowly by.
Last edited by Vluharqih on Sat Aug 13, 2016 11:33 pm, edited 1 time in total. word count: 835
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Vluharqih
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The city woke gently, like a snake stirring on a warm rock. The slow rise in noise as vendors and neighbours alike yelled at eac h ther hardly disturbed her, but a sudden disturbance in the street was more than enough to jar her from her trance. Shouting that had been a mere murmur in the background suddenly sounded as if it were directly outside the shop, and she heard real anger in the voices. She paused her work, slowly climbing off the stool as her stiff crystals screamed their protest. By the light streaming in the front windows, she guessed that she had been working for about five breaks, but there was still no sign of Mr.Gardener. He often slept down in the workshop, but it was rare for him to be asleep for this long.

Just as she turned to head downstairs, disregarding the commotion, the front door burst open to slam against the wall, shaking the old building. A jar, balanced precariously on a shelf tottered over and shattered across the ground. A quick glance told her that it was the jar of fifteen-arc Scarf Rot- incredibly expensive and extremely difficult to gather. It allowed the skin to heal without scarring after burns, and the jar would've gone for nearly 200GN. Irritation bloomed inside her, and she ground her teeth as she turned to see who it was that had, accidentally or not, wasted so much money.

A trio of soldiers stood in the doorway, looking heroic with the glow of the rising sun around their heads. The moment they entered, however, she quickly revised her opinion. The lead man was wearing an ornate cloak, some sort of insignia on his shoulder. His armour was only leather, but it was high quality, and Alex quickly realized he was part of the Etzori Army. She hadn't spent enough time in Etzos to recognize the soldiers rank, but by the deferential way the two following him she could tell he was at least somewhat important. Her neck prickled, already feeling hostile towards the unknown man.

"What's your name little girl? And where's your master?" The man's voice rung out, condescension dripping off his high-bred tongue. He had shot a glance towards the jar that had shattered, then sniffed and lifted the hem of his cloak to step over the slowly expanding pool. His goons had no such qualms, stamping their muddy boots right through the centre of it, and ruining any chances she had of salvaging some of it.

She needed to school her face into a mask to prevent a snarl from erupting. With an effort of will she managed to reply in a constrained voice. "He's not here at the moment. I can assure you I am more than capable for whatever you need."

He looked down his long nose at her, aloof as he surveyed the shop. "I highly doubt that. Now go get your master before I lose my temper." Turning to the soldiers at his side, he asked "How many more of these run down...holes.... do we have to visit today?"

The soldier at his side gave a glance to Alex, as if apologizing for his commander, but Alex didn't notice. The brain berries had worn off, and a headache had developed behind her eyes. Anger rushed through her like a river, and she felt herself swept along like a leaf in the spring rush. She gave up following Mr.Gardener's advice with customers. The man's insolent tone and dismissive attitude had snaked its way through her 'Customer Attitude', and touched something raw inside.

Enough of Miss Prim and Proper.

She snapped her fingers at him, grabbing his attention, just barely controlling her voice. "I'm sorry. As I said before, if you were listening, he's not here right now. If you have any issues you can talk to me, otherwise you can show yourself the door. I have no time for those who would waste it on pointless discussions."

She got a moment of delight as the commander's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. His eyes flashed with something dangerous, and he leapt the counter easily to tower over Alex. "What did you just say to me? Insolent little-"

His hand raised, as if to beat her, but she refused to be cowed. She stepped forward into him, mere inches of space between them as she snarled up at him. Her eyes blackened, the irises growing to swallow the whites of her eyes. She felt Valyeria crying to be let out, and Alex barely kept her under control. She bared her teeth, a snarl escaping from her throat as her eyes bored into his. The sudden change shocked him, and she saw a tremor of fear flicker through his eyes, followed by unreasoning hate.

The men he was with had drawn their blades when Alex moved forward, and now the points wavered as they pointed them towards an unarmed girl. Just as the commander went to sweep his arm down, a firm voice rang out.

"Just what is going on here?"

Mr. Gardener had come upstairs at some point, unnoticed by all, and now stood with his hands on his hips glaring at the four of them.

The commander turned to him, eyes opening wide. His arm, still raised, sheepishly sunk down and he took a step back as he cleared his throat. "Ahem- We have come for the supplies for the army. You are to be paid by the treasury at a later date." The traces of arrogance were still there, but he was significantly more respectful towards Mr.Gardener.

"Well I hardly think hitting a woman half your size is part of getting the supplies, now is it?" His derision him brought colour to the commander's cheek.

"She was barring our way. We needed to talk to the master of the shop, not some assistant." As he said the last words the shot a look at Alex full of malice. She knew then she had made an enemy, and she felt a sudden desire to kill him. A thin needle found its way into her hand, and she had to struggle to control herself. The needle was something she had taken to carrying on her person since the Race. It likely wouldn't do anything against the Mist Men, but the helplessness she had felt then was something she never wanted to feel again. She had quietly purchased the vial of Stain after a week of searching for a suitably discreet supplier. It was the classic neurotoxin , causing seizures and asphyxiation before they died. It acted quick enough that people often didn't have time to get an antidote.

But she had stolen ideas from the old, ratty journal found in the forester's cabin so many arcs ago. The writing had claimed that by adding powdered Iyo-cone, a cocoon of a particular butterfly, and a trace of twenty-five Arc Scarf Rot, the toxin could be safely contained within the body until a deep sleep activated it.

She understood the concept of a "trigger", where something would only be activated by another specific compound, so it made sense that there would be limitors, or inhibitors as the book called them. The Iyo-cone seemed to do just that.

She brought herself back to the present, realizing the two men had nearly finished their business. The commander turned to look at her, and she returned his gaze. Unblinking, they remained locked on each other for a trill. Two trills. The silence stretched, and it seemed neither would back down until Mr.Gardener cleared his throat. The commander shifted his gaze to his men, and gestured with his chin to head out.

They trundled out of the shop, the commander leaving last and fixing her with his gaze as he slammed the door firmly.

"Well, that's enough of that. You've been overworked. I think you need to take the rest of the trial off. Go home and sleep." His voice was firm, but a touch of concern coloured it at the end. He looked down at the broken jar and sighed.

"I've been working you too hard- sometime I forget how hard this all is for you still. Go home and rest, and come back tomorrow."

Alex turned, not trusting her voice. The look in the commander's eyes had hit her, and she suddenly realized how dangerous a high-ranking enemy would be. She turned from Mr.Gardener and left the shop, closing the door behind her as the stone in her gut grew.

I don't have a choice. I have to get rid of him. It had been arcs since she had felt the need to kill, but it swept her up in its seductive arms. Don't worry, it said. I'll solve it all.

She turned out of the store, just catching sight of the soldiers turning the corner. She sprinted after them, pulling her needle from its resting place to sit comfortably in her hand.

Alex spun around the corner and crashed into a solid wall of leather and cloth, tumbling to the ground as her needle slid through the fancy cloak to puncture skin. She looked up to see the furious face of the commander, and she quickly scrambled off.

Shit. Hardly inconspicuous. She pushed herself off, trying desperately to come up with a reason, any reason why she would be chasing after them. Like a bolt of lightning, it hit her.

Play off the 'little girl' image he seems to have of me.

She bit down hard on her cheek, and tears rushed to her eyes. She sent half a glance towards the captain, then looked down at the ground as if she couldn't meet his eye. She felt the wetness on her cheek, and she pushed past his guards, head down. She kept running and running, as if that could prove her innocence in the death about to come.

She heard his laughter as she tore through the crowd, and then he was gone.
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Vluharqih
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Breaks passed, and finally, exhausted, she returned to her house. Since the guards had turned away from her house, she had forced herself to go to a tavern down that way. After she had calmed down, she realized the importance of making some sort of alibi. When he died they would come look to her, she was sure of that.

So she had spent the rest of the day wandering the market, looking at the wares. She made herself visible, chatting to strangers and vendors alike. She had even ordered a set of beautiful leathers from Skin Deep Crafting in the city. It was way too hot for the current season, but the sight of the mottled black leathers had made her heart leap with memories, and for a few bits she had forgotten her predicament.

She opened her door and stumbled inside the small, one-room building, belatedly locking the door behind her before she slumped on her bed, wrung out. The rollercoaster of emotion that was the trial was enough to send Alex off to sleep despite the nagging worry of what was still to come.
Last edited by Vluharqih on Sun Aug 21, 2016 8:37 pm, edited 1 time in total. word count: 188
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Come and get your Loot!

(There's plenty more where that came from)


VLUHARQIH:
Rewards:

  • Story: +5
  • Collaboration: NA
  • Structure: +5

Knowledges:

  • Basic
    • Acting a Part to Get Close
    • Anticipating the Aftermath of One's Actions
    • High Ranking Enemies are Even Worse for a Yludih
    • NPC: Etzori Military Commander (EMC)
    • Sometimes Murder is Pre-emptive Self-Defense
    • The Short-Lived Thrill of Backtalk
    • The Sounds of a City Awakening
  • Specific
    • Agriculture: Custom Pots Make Rockmoss Easier
    • Bus. Mgmt: Absorbing a 200gn Scarf-Rot Loss
    • Bus. Mgmt: Military Boom Means Lots of Overtime
    • Etiquette: Even Rude Customers are "Always Right"
    • Etiquette: Recognizing Military Rank
    • Medicine: Brain Berries: Good for Overtime
    • Medicine: Rockmoss Tea
    • Medicine: Some Drugs Affect Yludih Differently
    • Mr. Gardener: Defends His Employees
    • Mr. Gardener: No Slouch When it Comes to Hard Work
    • NPC: EMC: The "Stained" Needle Solution
    • NPC: EMC: Too Great a Liability

Loot:

Nothing to speak of


Loss:

Nothing to speak of


Injuries:

Nothing to speak of


Fame: -7

Break a City Law (-2)
General Bad Deed (-1)
Victory in Single Combat (-4)


Comments:

A fun read. :D I kind of fudged a few fame points for you.
I will PM your Saun wages to you soon.
PM me with any comments or concerns
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