The Ghost of the Big Top (Circus Thread. Open)

[Essik]

Essik chuckled slightly as Leiwinn turned to assuage the man from the not-so-subtle threats that he had issued. He left the two to sort out things after Essik had made his presence known. But, then again, the man showed definite promise. He had approached this entire thing like Essik would have if he hadn’t been the one organizing it all. He would have approached without being seen and assessed the entire thing before presenting himself to the group. It was Sunberth after all, and there were people in this city who would see about using an instance like this to mug people as they came into investigate the scene. So, Essik really couldn’t blame him and he probably should have approached the man a little differently. But, Essik was going to make sure that everyone knew where things stood in this operation. He wasn’t going to allow anyone into this endeavor who would be willing to sell it out. He didn’t care what anyone did outside of the circus, so long as it didn’t interfere with the day-to-day operation of the performances. If they were going to work for the circus, they would be devoted to the establishment. Essik smiled to Leiwinn, nodding knowingly to her before he turned to the others once more, shaking his head a little. He looked to the woman who had been standing there as she offered to be able to sew. HE chuckled and nodded appreciatively, “That would be excellent. I am sure that I could assist you with that. Between the two of us, we could probably get it right. And, if anything, we could wait until we’re traveling and sew it then. It would be a good way to help pass the time in transit between cities. But, I hate to admit it, but I don’t think I caught your name yet, Miss?” He didn’t want to intrude if she wasn’t willing to divulge the information yet, but he wanted to be able to know the names of the people he would be working with. Essik looked to Jerico as he commented about the possiblitiy of a spy, laughing out loud for a moment, “Yes, I suppose you are right. If he was a spy, I assume he wouldn’t sit there and try to act like a cat when he got spotted, anyway. But no, the Daggerhand isn’t interested in me directly. I just want to try and keep the dirty hands of this city away from the circus, lest they try to dig in their claws and never let go. Something like that happens and we may never get any further than where we are today. A circus can’t work if it can’t turn a profit, and you can’t turn a profit if the city your stuck in is sucking all the funds out of you in dirty dealings and customer harassment. So… When I say that I don’t want any spies, it is because I want to keep this entire operation as pure as possible, at least in the immediate operations of the circus. I don’t care what anyone does in their off time, so long as they don’t attract unwanted attention to our operations.” Essik looked around once more, “Well, sewing will only be one of the things that needs to happen. Right now, as long as you’re good at lifting, sorting and cleaning, that will be the primary focus at first. Get everything cleaned up an either packed up or set up for operations. So, having a place to put people up for a little bit will help to grease the wheels, anyway. I thank you for the offer, it will make a large difference. Any miza that you might be able to pitch in would be greatly appreciated. I won’t ask for any of you to put in anything that you can’t afford. You’re money is yours. As it will always be. Even when the circus is profitable, after the larders are filled and the expenses taken care of, all the profits will be divided out amongst the employees of the circus for you all to keep and spend as you please. All I ask is that, since the circus will be acting as the home for everyone, that it is taken care of first, and all the profits after that will go to everyone equally.” Essik looked around once more for a moment, nodding a little bit, “Well, I would say that, even before we start working on the big top itself, that we get the area around it cleaned up and ready for people to work here. The main places that will need to be looked after first are the living tents, the wagons that are still sitting out front, and the practice and training equipment. After that, we can see about everything else. The living tents will likely take the most out of those. We need to make sure that the workers will have places to sleep and eat, so we need to make sure they’re cleaned out and ready. We’ll also have to see about either running off or employing any of the vagrants that might be living in the tents as well. They’re more than welcome to stay, so long as they are willing to work.”

[Leiwinn]

Leiwinn was amused by Bob's attempt at asking her out on a date and decided to play along. As the Father had always taught her, the more people she could use the better, and so she let out a little giggle and whispered, "Maybe. Let's talk about it later when we have some alone time, alright?" She gave the strange little man a peck on the cheek then turned back to the others, her eyes meeting with Essik's once more. "Don't worry, he's not a spy. He was just being cautious." Leiwinn was fairly certain that she was correct in her assessment, she doubted the little cat impersonator could have resisted her magically enhanced charms, and he was clearly enamored with her so he wouldn't want to risk getting caught in a lie. Leiwinn listened to everything the others had to say before she offered her own input. Jerrico was already willing to invest some coin, and the girl was offering to sew. They would need more than that, of course, but it seemed to be working out well enough. And Leiwinn had to admit that if things did work out the profit would make her own private quest much easier to accomplish. Finally she made her decision to speak up. "I wold like to be a part of this again.. Essik, you seem to have a plan, and I've already seen everything that made the last Circus fail so maybe I can help us to avoid those things a second time around. I have a spare tent that somebody could borrow, as well as an ox and a cart that we can use to transport things. I'll be staying here on the grounds in my own tent rather than the city. I've gotten pretty comfortable living in it, so I'll be around if anyone needs me. And I don't have much, but I could contribute some Mizas as well. Also, I can help deal with any city officials when we start traveling. I have a knack for getting people to agree to things, so hopefully we won't have any trouble getting rights to set up or anything like that." Leiwinn fell silent. She had some other ideas, but she didn't want to steal leadership from Essik. She would certainly act as an adviser when necessary though. Leiwinn had seen the last Circus fail, and she wasn't about to let it happen again. It had all been about using the operation as a cover for her own dealings back then, but for some reason she had grown attached and even proud of what they were trying to do. Seeing it all happening again brought back those feelings and Lewinn knew that this time she wanted to take a more active role in helping to run things, even if she didn't want to actually lead. She wasn't going to see the Circus fail again.

[Bob Barton]

Bob gave a little cold glare at Jericho. In a way Bob took what he said as an insult. At least Essik seemed to have some brains on him. He was already looking at everyone's specialties and finding out ways to put them to use. He was also right about not letting any of the scum get their hands on his venture. However as impressed as Bob was of his plans like another person in Sunberth he overheard last time, Bob still could not bring himself to be comfortable with this man who threatened him.

While Bob did not like Essik, he liked the promise of money he provided especially since his current job with Killroy did not pay that much. That would be one of the reasons that he will stay. To listen to what he had to say. The only other reason he is sticking around was because of Leiwinn. By the looks of it he had a chance with her. "I'll be looking forward to it then" with a little grin and chuckle of his own.

Since everyone was telling what they could do, why not Bob? No, he won't be working for the circus. He is barely even in Sunberth for a season so its too soon for him to pack up and leave. But there are other ways of "helping" the circus and get paid in the process. Even if Essik seemed reluctant to ask for it, there is no doubt that he wants them. "I don't have any talents to provide the circus. But..." yes the but is always bad but here it is good "...I don't mind investing some mizas and helping around while you are in Sunberth. But..." this but is still good in a way "...I expect some returns if you know what I mean." And if Essik doesn't then Bob would have to take the trouble explaining. Not fun.

[Treasure]

Treasure wondered if she should over her 'Miza', but her mother had told her to save as much as possible, this was very important things when living in civilized packs. Her mind then wandered to Essik's suggeston, and nodded when he said they could sew on the way. She expected she'd have to pull a carriage, but they had to stop sometime, no? Then he asked for her name, but she wasn't surprised, her mother had told her these civilized packs were obsessed with names. "Mother called me Treasure a while before I left.. I suppose that can be my name."

As Essik spoke to Jericho about not wanting dirty hands on the circus, she of course looked at her own and scrubbed them clean on her dress, then holding them up for him to see that hers were clean, at least. As the talked turned to miza again, she spoke up a question: "How much is needed?"

Treasure eyed the other female there, then looked to the cat-impersonator. She was pretty sure they were doing some sort of mating-dance, but the female acted like an alpha-female, meaning she should be with Essik.. Which must mean that she's the 'beta'.. And that would make Bob the beta-male. She didn't understand what Bob meant, but figured it wasn't her place to ask.

[Jerico]

By now Jerico had already made up his mind, Essik was one of the few good people in the city and the fact that he wasn’t involved in anything regarding the Daggerhand had wiped away any doubt he had before. “Good to hear Essik, I’ve quit jobs before to avoid involvement with the Daggerhand and gangs like them. It’s nice to know that I won’t have to with this one. Though I must agree with you, this city tends to suck away money doesn’t it?” Hearing that they’d have to get the vagrants to move or join them he shuddered at the thought. Not that he wouldn’t help, he just preferred to avoid areas with vagrants due to their tendency to grab shiny things, not that it was any different amongst the rest of Sunberth. You just can’t get back at someone who has nothing left. “So how would we go about doing that? Most people without homes tend to run off with whatever they can get their hands on when they’re found…” He trailed off, as he saw something rather disturbing. For about a split second he could have sworn Bob had been glaring at him. His face slowly changed to one of puzzlement before turning towards Leiwinn as she spoke about convincing city officials. He kept silent, already wondering how she would get someone like a city official to skip rules and contemplating if Bob had actually been glaring at him. Bob spoke again, this time about lending money like he himself had offered, though added on to Bob’s proposal was the return of money. Jerico let out a small sigh, already dreading the coming days with the small man if they both stayed at the circus.

[Essik]

OOCI’m wanting to make sure everything gets lined up in this thread for travel before I go making a thread for this fall season for the actual travel thread. So we’ll need to wrap this thread up and get on to the task threads in the beginning of fall. Travel should be starting by the middle of fall by the latest so that way we can get to our destination before winter hits. Sound good? Essik looked to Leiwinn as voiced her desire to help out with everything, as they all were. He smiled a little, it would definitely be good to have her along with the troupe. She had been with the circus when he had been called away and she knew exactly what had happened that had caused it all to fail, so she would have invaluable advice concerning that area. He knew that she was able to perform as well. He couldn’t remember off the top of his head what act she had been set to perform last time, but he knew she had talents with which to entertain a crowd. Or at least he thought he remembered that. There were several offers for donations as well, which made Essik smile for a moment. At least they seemed dedicated enough to put in a little of their hard earned money. That meant a lot to him. It showed at least a small level of trust in him so far as well as dedication. Not many, especially in Sunberth, were willing to give up their money for anything but themselves. So it was good to see that these people were willing to invest in this thing. They believed in it as much as he did. Essik looked over to Bob, flashing a grin his way, “I’m pretty sure I know what you mean. I can’t guarantee much of a return on any money invested right now, unfortunately. Most of the funds we get together right now are going to be used to get us to the next city. We won’t start seeing any returns until we get to the next city and start actual performances. But, if you’re willing to let me courier the money to you from our first stop, I can promise you your own equal share of any profits until the money you invest has been tripled. Would that be acceptable?” He looked to Treasure, still wearing his charming little grin, “Well then, it a pleasure to meet you, Treasure.” He saw how she had presented her hands once she had cleaned them off and let out a small chuckle for a second, “No… I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant. I meant dirty hands figuratively. I mean that I don’t want anyone working on or involved in the circus who is looking out for only their own interests. I want people who are wanting to see the circus itself prosper and understand that personal gains will come from that prosperity. I don’t want to have to worry about city officials taxing us into a loss of profits, either. That is not beneficial for anyone. So… these “dirty hands” are good for no one. So I don’t want them in our operations. But, if you are worried about it, I’m pretty sure we’re close to one of the small wells around here, so if you need you can wash your hands.” He winked playfully for a second before looking to the whole group once more, “As far as any monetary values are concerned, I am wanting to get enough for three more oxen and yokes for them to pull a couple of the carts that were left behind. That will get us enough room to gather the tents we need and supplies for our travels. Leiwinn, if it is alright with you, I included your oxen into the numbers so that way we could have two teams of two. That will be able to pull what we need for our travels at the moment. If not, we’ll need enough for a fourth oxen and yoke. The circus’s old wagons will work out for use. They’re a little worn out, but should work just fine to get us where we’re going. But, on top of that, we’ll need to make sure we have enough trail rations and foodstuffs for all of us as well as proper clothing to combat the coming temperatures of the fall. I have a full 60 Miza that I can see fit for starting off with for putting into the coffers. Do not feel obligated to match or exceed that, just give what you are comfortable with, no more.” Essik looked around for any input, “And Jerico, don’t worry about the vagrants. Their smell will be the worst part we have to endure. There really isn’t anything left over here for them to steal, so we won’t have to worry about them making off with anything important. Just keep your personal goods in good order and everything will be fine.”

[Leiwinn]

Leiwinn was certainly no beta, nor was her interest in Bob anything but to fool him into cooperation. Of course, Treasure wouldn't know any of that, and hopefully Bob wouldn't realize either. Leiwinn's magic would ensure he never doubted her, as long as she kept it up, and not only would the man provide her with a good outlet to practice her magic on but after he mentioned donating some money to the circus funds Leiwinn realized he might even be useful in helping toward her own agenda. If the man was loaded then Leiwinn had no problem exploiting that. He had already offered to buy her dinner, perhaps he could buy her the other things she needed as well. When Jerico expressed his own concerns about the vagrants stealing from them Leiwinn simply smiled and chuckled. "Don't worry, Jerico, if they steal anything from us I'll make sure we get it back." Of course Essik explained that there was nothing to steal, but Jerico was smart in being concerned. They did not have any means to protect the items and money the circus would eventually require, but if all went well they wouldn't have to worry about the vagrants anyway. Leiwinn considered everything else Jerico had said. She didn't have a problem lending her oxen to the cause, but she did have a problem with anyone being to close to her stuff. "I don't have a problem loaning out my ox. You can even use my cart, if it's bigger than the ones we already have. ..I will insist on driving whatever cart my stuff is on, however. I have personal items in there that I would rather keep an eye on. They don't take up much space, so there will be plenty of room for the circus materials, but I bought the cart and ox for my own uses. If that's okay with you.. if not, I do have some coin I could pitch in to help purchase another ox and gear." Leiwinn knew she might be being a bit selfish, but the ox and cart did belong to her and she did have her possessions to consider. Leiwinn wasn't about to let her things fall into the wrong hands.

[Bob Barton]

Triple the investment? That was what Bob meant. Actually he meant more but then he did not really have much experience with this business matters. But "couriering the money won't be necessary" because it will add unneeded costs and who would Bob or Essik trust with the money? Better still was whether Bob could trust Essik with sending the money. Investing the money was a type of risk, a good one a person may see himself doing. Trusting another with the money was an entirely different risk for fools because people like Essik can just play innocent if it never reached people like Bob. No, "you can just keep the money and reuse it when you need to" since it will have the potential to generate more returns for Bob "if you want until we meet each other again" which might be sooner than anyone could think since Bob has been travelling a lot ever since he left Zeltiva.

The fact is that Bob was not that loaded. His money was normally used for his past time which was gambling, not to mention that his current job in Sunberth which he took for some strange reason paid very little. He would actually trust Essik with his money more than himself since the man had a very sound plan on how it would be used as opposed to squandering it away in the nearest tavern. Even the vagrants would use the money better. The simplest solution for Jerico was to "guard your things better." How could he call himself a man of Sunberth if he was not doing something like that already? Did he expect that by being with a group of other people his things would be safe? No it actually just meant that "you have to put a lot more effort into it."

"Prevention will be a lot more better than going through the trouble of getting your things back." The people Jerico was talking about were aligned to none other than themselves. Not a unified group like the Daggerhands, those would be easy to track even if opposing them is dangerous. Vagrants can just disappear in Sunberth after getting what they wanted. "Even if you find them your things would already disappear." Thats what Bob would do. Why risk losing it when you get caught when you can profit right away? And with the circus starting out, "I am pretty sure you have better things to do like preparing and practicing" he told Leiwinn. He did not know what all of them could do but if he was going to invest in the circus he would of course need to know what they could do as well to make sure it was sound.

[Treasure]

Treasure was puzzled. Essik had told her he didn't mean dirty hands, but he still spoke of wells, to clean her hands. She did like the wink though, it seemed playful to her, was he playing a game? At least he wasn't angry at her for not understanding. She listened as he continued talking to the others and her.
"Did you count me in? I can pull a cart, or part of one with an ox. And I have.."
She stopped talking to pull off her backpack and started counting her miza slowly, obviously not that good at math.
"200 gold miza.. but I don't know how much I'll need myself..?"
She looked at the other, apparently expecting them to tell her honestly how much she'd need, for of course they would be honest. Why wouldn't they?
"Where do we start gathering everything?"

[Jerico]

Jerico nodded towards Essik and Leiwinn as they reassured him on the safety of his own things. In truth he was more worried about his mandolin than anything else, it was his way of life and without it he wouldn't be able to survive in Sunberth. While some people chose to guard and protect their things Jerico was the kind of man to avoid danger and steer clear of threats. "I can put in 30 mizas for now, maybe more if I can get it. It all depends on just how willing people are with their purses right?" Listening to Essik explain what he meant by dirty hands to Treasure brought a smile to Jerico's face. She seemed a lot longer than what she appeared to be, not only that but she was extremely naive. He could only guess she was new to Sunberth, or really good at acting like she was new. "So Essik, where do you want us?" Hearing Treasure count herself amongst the oxen he realized why she seemed so new, she was a Kelvic. And really young by the looks of it, since she was counting herself with the oxen he could only assume that she was a pack animal of some kind, A horse or oxen maybe.