Location [Alvadas Location] The Sanity Center

[Eridanus]

The vantha's eyes widened when he heard the quotation, but he kept his game face on when she continued. When she finally ended, he shook his head in an amused manner.

"My dear lady... at 6gm a day with simple furnishing a season will cost 540gm. With less than that price I can buy the same building instead of merely renting it out. I am but a poor man, and the main reason behind rental is for a cheaper price. If rental costs the same as buying it, what need do I have for renting?"

Gazing directly into her eyes, he added softly in a subtle attempt to persuade her, "That is why you're here isn't it? You know the best deals, and you know what is reasonable and what isn't. I pray that you help a fellow citizen of Alvadas and faithful of Ionu..."

[Fallacy]

She kept her same smile throughout the same speech, but when he stated that as a citizen of Alvadas and of Ionu... She wavered and quickly took the papers back, "Silly me," she laughed, found out, "those cant be correct." taking out her quill she scribbled on the papers and then took a great stamp out and stamped on each of them, "How does this look?" she asked handing the man the new prices. The 3 GM one was now 5 SM a day, and the 6 GM one was now 1 GM a day. "I will authorize those prices for your troubles." She declared, "Choose your accommodations."

[Eridanus]

Eridanus smiled when she made her revisions.

That wasn't so hard, wasn't it?

Taking the 1gm a day one, he read aloud through the terms and specifications carefully.

"A 400 square feet common area with simple furniture to allow it to be designated as a meeting room, and a 200 square feet office with simple furniture to allow it to function as such. The office serves as the front room, with the side door leading to the meeting room."

Glancing up as he signed the papers, he took out his pouch and placed ninety gold-rimmed mizas along with the signed papers.

"A season will cost 90gm then?"

[Fallacy]

She watched as the man signed the contract, "91 Gold Miza" she quickly corrected him on his calculation, waiting for him to add a miza. When that was done, she took the paper and signed it herself, then stamping it again with another stamp before quickly filing it away. Opening a drawer she slid a key to the man, "This key will always lead you to your building. Be sure not to lose it." once Eri would take the key business would be concluded and the man would feel a faint tug on his mind, almost instinctively knowing the location of the building. OOC : You have rented that building! Congratulations. Dont forget to update your ledger and add the key. The building and key will disappear after Summer season has ended. Just like you never had it. Any possessions of yours or the groups that is not out of the building can be found scattered around Alvadas.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus nodded gratefully.

"My bad," He said, adding one more gold coin. Taking the key, he placed it in his pockets.

Before turning around, he added, "Thank you for your time, m'lady. Have a great day, you hear?"

With that, he left the building. One thing concluded, and one major one to prepare for.

[Kuvarakh]

85th day of Spring, 512 AV

What was it? The stability of the image? The commonplace nature of it? A simple office, rather small, not opulent with unfathomably rich and rare splendor. A woman, harried and harassed with rushed tasks vying for her taxed attention. Not a glamorous symbol of voluptuous seduction and promises of pleasures allotted to gods alone. Truly a change of pace in this city. An image to be taken at face value and believed.

People, plain and meek, not exotic and charismatic, waited, simply, in line. The drudgery of common citizens seeking assistance from a government office and having to wait their turn. A smile formed on Kuvarakh's face, one of the few in years and certainly the first in days. This was no grand illusion, no tapestry of wonders painted on the brain by the Lord of Alvadas. You walked into this office and got what you saw. Honesty. Kuvarakh appreciated that.

Interview after interview repeated the same basic pattern, 'Where do I find..blah, blah, blah...' 'I'm trying to find blah...blah...blah' 'I'm lost, where do I find blah...blah...blah' Kuvarakh sympathized with the poor woman. Didn't these people grasp the significance of the name "City of Illusions"?

Almost, he considered offering his services as escort to relieve her burden, but she would need a crew of them to be any real benefit. Besides, even though he WAS in need of a job, he was an alchemist, not a guide. And it was time to renew the direction in his life. The obsession that had given him drive for the many decades since his transformation to Nuit had come to a grinding halt with a simple "no". She had denied him, and though her words had been gentle, the effect had been to maroon him in a world suddenly bereft of purpose.

But she HAD seen fit to come and speak to him. And that was, itself, a grand thing. He would not disparage the honor she had shown him by drifting aimlessly now.

His turn came. He approached the desk. He smiled with genuine pleasure, knowing he was not going to be just another awe-stricken sightseer needing directions in a city where they change with the chimes.

"Thank you for your time, good woman, my name is Kuvarakh. I am an alchemist in need of employment. I have apprenticed in several laboratories between here and Zeltiva. I believe I can say without fear of contradiction that I have obtained journeyman level in the field. And, best of all..." he paused for dramatic effect, "If you give me the address and the name, I can find it myself!"

[Mirage]

Kuvarakh: The woman's hands rubbed her temples as she sighed, "For the last time I cannot give you directions to the Cubacious Inn. You MIGHT be able to find it if you stay toward the center of the city. That is where it is most often spotted, but really it is all up to luck beyond that." Harsh lines pulled at the corner of her eyes and weighed heavy on Serenity's brow. It had been a very long and harrowing day, and as the last idiotic man turned to seek the inn Serenity had to force a smile to appear on her lips as she greeted the next. When she spoke the strain on her cheery attitude shown forth as clear as Leth's glow at night, "Welcome to the Sanity Center, how may I help you?" The woman only just caught a sigh of relief when the man did not ask how to get to some random institution within the city, and her demenor brighton considerably, a true smile lighting her lips as she spoke, "By far you have become my favorite aquaintance of the day. An alchemist you say, and one who has spent time in Zelativa?" The woman reached and withdrew a thin folder from her desk, flipping through it as she spoke, "Hm... you have presented me with a very interesting puzzle. You see Alvadas does not boast of a huge demand for those with your particular skills, but even so there is still a chance." She looked up, "What kind of position were you looking for? Are you thinking of opening your own shop, or perhaps try for a position with one of the other local alchemist?"

[Kuvarakh]

Kuvarakh considered, "Honestly, I think it best that I serve an established laboratory, rather than provoking animosity from those few by competing for their customers. As well, my desire to avoid indebtedness." He fought the impulse to lean over and scan the pages, sensing the woman would quickly grow annoyed.

"I have lived here for nigh two years now and have developed the knack one requires for finding locations in this most random of cities." he paused, fixing an appreciative grin on the overworked woman, "I wonder, were I to set down a deck of cards, if Lord Ionu would shuffle them for me as he does his streets and structures.

"Forgive me, I ramble. Are there any openings?"

[Mirage]

Kuvarakh: Serenity smiled and looked back down at the folder in her hand, leafing through and pulling a single sheet up to better inspect, "Indeed, it is far better to not be indebted than to be dearly so. Well then, there is only one place that comes to mind that fits your needs." She raised a finger and winked at Kuvarakh, "And as it turns out we have had some dealings before, back when she first arrived in Alvadas herself." Returning the sheet and setting the folder aside, Serenity pulled a new, clean piece of parchment from her desk, along with a quill and inkwell. Dabbing the quill twice, she began speaking while writing, "The establishment is called Alchemmia Alchea, and it is the only alchemy laboratory within the city that is open to the public. Being a little shop it does not not get very much business, but it does take on very... interesting requests." Finishing the last line of this letter, Serenity folded up the parchment and sealed it with wax, handing it to Kuvarahk, "It is run by a woman named Wanda, and she is very skilled in her craft. Take this letter to her, and if she finds you suitable you may be employed there."

[Scorn]

39th Summer, 512 (dawn) Location: The Sanity Center This place she had entered was unlike anything Scorn had ever encountered before. So many heartbeats packed so closely together, and yet there was no hunting, no hunted, no sense of the fear that made life worth living. She didn't like it... but there wasn't much choice. She had no idea where to find her sister, and she was not capable of living indefinitely without a colony. She would have to find support, such as it was, with the creatures in this place. Even in the cool dark of midnight, the bright colors of the city made the Zith's eyes hurt. Her first instinct was to take flight and get her bearings, or possibly clean her blood-matted fur and claws (she'd fed recently), but something compelled her toward the large red sign immediately in front of her. She knew enough how to read that with a bit of concentration she could puzzle out "welcome" and that word that meant shelter. Shelter drew her attention; that was always a top priority. Shelter meant relative safety, it meant you could sleep and rest and defend yourself from danger. The structure certainly looked like it could be considered decent shelter, but it had no obvious openings by which to enter. She walked fully around the building twice to no avail. As she approached the front of the building for the third time, however, she heard someone coming. She quickly moved back around the side of the building, to avoid being seen. As the human approached the building, Scorn peered around the side to watch. It put its hand on some kind of knobby protrusion, which the Zith has assumed was just a meaningless deformation in the rock. But somehow, fiddling with the knob allowed the human to walk through the wall! Scorn quickly rushed to where the knob was. The discolored rectangular patch in the wall she’d notice before was slanted inward now, though it was slowly swinging back to its original position. She shoved at the rectangle, almost tumbling over as it gave way. By the time she had regained her balance, she found she was in a small, dark enclosure (much easier to see in than the glaring daylight), with a human. Through her general shock and confusion, she managed to stumble through some words, even remembering to speak Common for the silly food-beast. "Where am I? What is this place?"