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Center of scholarly knowledge and shipwrighting, Zeltiva is a port city unlike any other in Mizahar. [Lore]
Anikah's Fortune 31 Spring 512 Marketplace in Zeltiva
She cut a striking figure, all in black from head to toe. A scar and milky white right eye spoke of a serious injury somewhere in her past. It was obvious she was blind in that eye. He had watched her cautiously approach his tent. She somehow managed to almost slink inside without actually slinking. Now she stood there watching him. He spoke.
“Good day, my dear,"he said in a low gravelly voice.“What brings you to my humble establishment? Your fortune perhaps?”
Anikah tiled her head to the side in an attempt to see further beneath his hood as she slid into the chair. Giving up, she shrugged. "Perhaps." She agreed, folding her hands under her chin and propping her elbows on the chairs arms."How much will it cost me?" Anikah crossed her legs under the table. Fortune telling she wondered. Of course, she had heard of it before, but always dismissed it as nonsense. This man however, with his shadowed face and the odd, uneasy feeling he gave her, was giving her second thoughts.
Anselm's gray, dark, empty eyes stared unblinking at the young woman. There was something about her that made him uneasy. He had the distinct impression that this could be a dangerous woman, although he was not sure why he felt that way. When he spoke, he spoke slowly and in a deep, gravelly voice.“Had you bothered to read the sign I have posted outside the tent for exactly that purpose, you would have discovered that I will tell you your fortune for a mere five silver mizas. But no matter.”He waved his hand dismissively.
He brought a small cloth bag out from under the long black cloak that covered nearly all of him. He carefully untied it and poured the contents into his right hand, which was gloved. Anselm always wore thin black gloves when dealing with people. He held out his hand so she could see what he had. What he had were eighteen tiny bones engraved with intricately carved designs.
“My dear,”he said.“In order to proceed, I need a few things from you. Three to be exact. First, I require the five silver mizas, since this is how I make my living. Second, I require your right hand. Third, I require a question. The question is not strictly required, but it would be helpful to both of us.”
He waited.
OOC :
A suggestion: Put a blank line between paragraphs. It makes it much easier to read. You can do that by adding an extra line in the editing window.
Reaching into one of her many vest pockets Anikah pulled out her coin pouch. She didn't understand why people wore the leather bags at their belts, it made it so much easier to steal from. Not that Anikah really minded, it made her job much easier.
The bones he held in his hand were curious little things, each engraved with some sort of strange writing. They vaguely reminded Anikah of chicken bones.
Carefully she counted out the five silver mizas and placed them onto the table, careful not to make much noise. She bit her lip, searching for a question that was worth hearing the answer too. Giving up she shrugged again.
"I have no question." She murmured, placing her right hand down on the table beside the coins.
This was not entirely satisfactory to Anselm. Most of Anselm's customers came to him because something was bothering them and they were looking guidance. Sometimes they knew what their question was, other times not. But either way there was always something eating away at their souls. It was this “something” that Anselm's fortune-telling would speak to. In short, Anselm's fortune-telling was really just a mirror he held up in front of people so they could see themselves in a new way, which was often all they needed. Then they went happily on their way thinking what a wonderful and wise fortune-teller Anselm was when in fact they had answered their own question. From Anselm's point of view, this was a win-win. His customers usually went away with the answers they were looking for, and Anselm made a living. The young woman sitting before him now did not seem to have anything in particular she was looking for. Indeed, she didn't seem especially interested in having her fortune told at all. However, there was something disturbing about her and this piqued his curiosity.Besides,he thought.She's a paying customer.
“Very well,”he said in a tired voice.“We shall see what we shall see.”He reached out with his left hand and placed two fingers lightly on the back of her right hand.O great,he thought.She's a Kelvic.The reason Anselm touched his customers as he threw the bones was so that he could use what little Auristic ability he had to observe emotional shifts in their aura when he spoke their fortune. He used this as a clue to which part of the words touched home. It turns out that Kelvics have a distinctive aural signature, which he detected as soon as he touched her. He could not tell what kind of Kelvic she was, but there was no doubt that she was Kelvic. It also turns out that Anselm does not care for Kelvics. Their animal nature makes them unpredictable, and Anselm prefers predictable.
He turned his right hand over and let the bones tumble on to the surface of the table where he studied them for a moment. Then he solemnly intoned her “fortune”.
Water above, danger. Water below, also danger. Going from one danger to another, Yet able to get through successfully in spite of danger. It is therefore called mastering pitfalls.
Anselm did not really believe in fortune-telling. At least not in the sense most people thought of it. His master had taught him sixty-four ancient words of wisdom. The throw of the bones pointed him to one of those words. As near as he could tell, it didn't matter which of the sixty-four words of wisdom he offered to someone. What mattered was the question, spoken or not, that they brought to the words. But every once in a while he found himself wondering if there might not be more to it. Certainly his master had believed there was more to it. He was wondering about that now, because he detected an emotional spike in her aura at the words, "Going from one danger to another."
Take the money and send the girl on her way,his rational self warned.She's trouble.He raised his dark, dead eyes to the girl's and held her with his stare. The thought,Curiosity killed the Nuit,flitted briefly through his mind as he spoke.
Anikah frowned, trying to make sense of his words. Going from one danger to another... What does that mean...? Was it referring to how she lived? Because it was dangerous and she managed to survive. She glanced up at him at his next words.
Putting on a cocky grin she pushed her thoughts away for later. "My job?" she asked. "Well, it's hardly as lawful as yours. I suppose you could say I help people to part with their goods." She grinned again. She wasn't stupid enough to outright say 'I steal for a living’; she knew how much trouble that could get her into. "Why do you ask?"
Anselm almost burst out laughing at her round-about admission to being a thief, and would have except that he had never really figured out how to get his body to laugh properly. The problem is one of breathing. Nuits don't. With practice they can learn to manipulate their throats so as to produce enough breath to speak, although it usually results in what most people would take to be an identifiable accent. The best he could manage was a chuckle and even that often came out sounding like a cat being strangled. So he contained the urge.
Instead, he pulled his concentration inward and then pushed his mind outward to touch her aura.Hmm,he thought.Not canine … not avian … not rodent … ah ha! … feline.He was vaguely aware that the young woman was looking at him oddly, probably wondering if he had fallen asleep.But what kind of cat?He continued to explore around her aura.Not a big cat, too timid for that. … Ha! He had it.And this time he did laugh. It was an explosive, guttural croaking sound:“Aaarack! Aaarrak! Aaarak!”He stopped immediately. No point is scaring the poor girl half out of her wits.
“My dear,”he said.“You are a cat burglar! How positively delightful!”To Anselm, people were like puzzles to be solved or mysteries to be unraveled. It was one of the few pleasures he had left in life. She had indeed delighted the old man. He gathered up his bones and put them back their little sack, which disappeared somewhere inside his cloak. Then he looked her in the eye.
“Are you any good at it?”He asked.
OOC :
Read the story Just a Suggestion, which recounts something that happened to Anselm the previous evening, and you will get an idea of where he is going with this conversation.
Anikah raised an eyebrow. What was that? A laugh? Or was he having some sort of attack? Frowning she shook her head, a wry smile making it onto her face. At his next question she shrugged.
"I do well enough to make a living out of it." Her eyebrow rose further. "Why, do you need something? I do enjoy the odd challenge now and again." She asked curiously, leaning forward and folding her hands under her chin.
“Well enough to make a living at it,”Anselm echoed her words in a slow raspy voice.“You may indeed be able to help me. And it is possible there will be something in it for you as well. There is an item – a small dagger – that I acquired and that means a great deal to me. Unfortunately it was stolen from me and is now in the hands of a young dandy staying at the World's End Grotto along with two companions: a young woman and a rather intimidating man who I suspect is skilled in the more violent arts. I learned from the innkeeper, with whom I am on good terms, that they are leaving tomorrow.
“The dandy is, I believe, quite well off. I have reason to believe that the dagger will remain in their room when they go out for their evening meal. If you could somehow find your way into their room at that time, it might be possible to retrieve my dagger. As to what other items of interest you might find there, I cannot say.
Well, too bad this thread was cut short. Decided to give you Anikah lores even if the PC has retired, but feel free to scrap them. Also... woah, Anselm's laugh made me shiver! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me!
by Anselm on April 22nd, 2012, 5:00 pm 
