Anselm the Fortune Teller (Closed)

[Anselm]

Anselm the Fortune Teller 01-91 Summer 512 Marketplace in Zeltiva OOCThis is an open social thread. Post anytime during the Summer Season. I will start a new thread for the two of us and we'll see where it goes. As was his custom, Anselm arrived at the marketplace early in the morning to set up his tent. The entire front side of the tent was tied back, creating a three-sided covered space. Inside sat Anselm behind a small table. A black cane with a silver handle leaned against the table beside him. A single chair was located in front of the table. Other than that, the tent was empty. A sign hung above the entrance: ANSELM THE SEER Fortune Telling, 1 GM Warning: Be careful what you ask for. Disclaimer: The management assumes no responsibility for appallingly bad news. ALSO A COLLECTOR OF RARE AND UNUSUAL OBJECTS RUMORS OF SUCH ARE WELCOME Anselm wore a long black cloak held closed at the neck by a silver brooch. A black hood covered his head and obscured his face somewhat in shadow. He did this not to hide the fact that he was Nuit, but to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to it. Besides, he thought it added a mysterious, almost spooky element to the overall atmosphere he was trying to create. Perception is everything, he thought to himself as he waited for his first customer.

[Ignotus Everto]

8th Summer, 512AV

Ignotus paused outside of the tent, taking a couple steps back to take a good look at the sign. His gaze soon shifted from the sign to the seer himself. He tilted his head to the side slightly at Anselm's cloak, looked down at his own, and smiled. He knew, of course, that other Nuit were generally as slight and pale as he was, but he didn't expect them to wear such similar clothes. A seer... I've never spoken with one of them before... He'd be a fine challenge, if nothing else. Ignotus thought to himself as he stepped into the tent. He had come to the marketplace for powder and practice, and this man could satisfy one of those needs.

[Anselm]

Continued in Ignotus' Fortune.

[Avari]

Season of Summer, Day 30, 512 AV

Summer had brought a breath of fresh, warm air into the city of Zeltiva in more ways than one, not only raising temperatures but also ushering in new winds of prosperity or, at least, reduced poverty. Since the food shipments started arriving from Syliras and the famine was officially lifted, a sense of renewed energy and vibrancy pervaded the city. Citizens were out and about again in the balmy, sunny warmth of Zeltiva's pleasantest season, unlocking their doors and opening their windows, thronging the streets and marketplaces, and spending their money or bartering their goods once more.

Along with those throngs came, as a matter of course, the pickpockets and lurkers like Avari, who were also trying to reestablish their livelihoods and seeking new opportunities. The Konti couldn't express in words what a joy it was to be back practicing her old trade again. With the famine, riots, and rebuilding in spring forcing her to keep mostly to herself, she hadn't realized how much she missed slipping in and out of crowds, hunting for easy marks, and swiping coins, purses, or small belongings. It made for good practice for skills that she'd feared had gone rusty after a season of disuse.

With her old wide-brimmed hat squashed down over her inexpertly pinned-up bun of pale hair and her grey woolen cloak draped over her left arm, she fixed her attention on a formerly plump man in a suit much too loose for him now. His trouser pockets hung open, revealing the large, shining red apple in his right pocket. Avari's mouth watered, and before she knew it, she was moving along the man's right side, keeping pace with him as unobtrusively as she could manage. She stopped when he stopped, before a stall offering a selection of wooden basins and platters, and eased close enough to the man to smell his breath.

The cloak on her left arm concealed the movement of her right arm across her body to the man's right trouser pocket. Avari watched the man's face carefully while her hand brushed against the rough wool of his trousers, making sure he never looked her way. Her fingers touched the apple, and she prayed it wouldn't slip out of her fingers. With a quick, smooth motion, she pulled it out of his pocket and held it tight in her hand.

Immediately, she stepped away from the man, her senses tingling with the euphoria of a successful lift and ablaze with the desire to get away as quickly as possible. Avari cast quick, nervous looks around at her surroundings, searching for believable ways to disappear. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the sign above the three-sided tent beside the stall. A scornful, sneering grin crossed her lips.

"Anselm the Seer: Fortune Telling, 5 sm," she whispered.

Oh, it was too funny. A fortune-teller with his own tent in the market, in a city full of Konti healers who could read your heart in an eye-blink. The presumption of it made her chuckle softly to herself.

The fat man who formerly owned an apple was turning around, though, and Avari knew she had to act quickly. With a few hurried strides, she stepped inside the tent and slid into the empty chair before a small table, straddling it between her slender legs. To her immense relief, no one ran into the tent after her shouting, "Thief! Thief!", so Avari decided she must be safe. Turning back to the table, she rested her elbows on its surface and took a dainty bite from her apple. Only then did she finally take a good look at the tent's other occupant, a figure swathed in a hooded black cloak.

"Hello there," she said coolly. "I take it that you're the fortune teller in question? Care to tell me about my fortune?"

[Ira]

15th Day of Summer, 512AV She had heard whispers of the being that stayed in the tent and as such she dually avoided the little kiosk. Telling fortunes was a profession she did not consider useful and those who believed in such without a second thought were just as hopeless. Still if nothing else perhaps I would give her insight to her own little problem. And perhaps acquaint herself better with the oddities that resided in the city. Unhurried she strode into the tent, enjoying the break from work as well as the cool evening air. It was getting late but the sun still shone. It was her favorite time of day for lack of people and lack of heat. The weather here had seemed relatively cool until she had begun work until the sun. Her mind stopped it wandering as she slid into the little tent, her gaze flicking over the sign, not really reading anything but the price. She was a little curious at the being in the cloak. A monster of some kind or so the kids had told her. It was none of her business though and obviously the only reason they said so was the hunched way her sat and the way his face stayed hidden from view. A well plotted atmosphere for an illusion. Ira kept silent as she sat, lifting the chair from the ground so as to not make a sound when pulling it back before settling herself. She did not speak and instead allowed herself to lean back in the chair and fold her hands in front of her. She wanted to keep her words brief and to the point. “You can answer any question?” she pulled out a ten coins from her pocket and set them in front of the man, “I have two questions.”

[Anselm]

Continued in Ira's Fortune.

[Lucas Arias]

Summer 60, 512 AV

Lucas forrowed his brow as he noticed the tent. He had just gone to the market to buy some food, but this here looked infinitely more interesting than a loaf of bread, so he came closer to read the sign.

Apparently a seer had set up shop here. The former squire grinned all over his face. He didn't mind hearing appalingly bad news - on the contrary, those were usually the most interesting news of all. He absolutely loved bad news!

He also couldn't help but wonder if this so called seer could tell him whether he'd ever discover that treasure that would make him rich or marry an Eypharian.

Besides that he'd always wondered how fortune telling worked, especially if you weren't a Konti tho whom such things seemed to come naturally.

So he entered.

With his bright red hair, somewhat mismatched clothes and the strange, moving mark on his arm the former squire and current university student looked like quite an interesting character. He had a longsword at his belt and carried a bag that was full of paper (to draw the things he came across during his walks through the city).

As his gaze fell on the seer himself, his eyes widened a little, and then he strode over to the table and sat down, as if Anselm had already invited him.

"Morning", he greeted him cheerfully. "I have three questions. Can you tell me what the future holds for me? Why are you wearing a cloak when it's summer? Is it because you want to look all mysterious or because you are a freaky male Konti that shouldn't even exist?"

"And lastly, how does this fortune telling business work? Is it something you can learn?"

His eyes shimmered with curiosity.

[Anselm]

Continued in Lucas' Fortune.

[Eridanus]

Day 81, Summer of 512 AV
Morning

The group of two hundred mercenaries, along with two thousand soldiers of the Syliran Knights entered Zeltiva the day before, after spending close to half a season travelling on the roads. After spending the rest of the day sleeping the fatigue off, he and Nira'lia decided to visit the marketplace. It had been quite a few years since he had come here, and memories of his time back in the University was slowly coming back as he breathed Zeltivan air, talked to Zeltivan people and appreciated the pre-Valterrian architecture of Zeltivan buildings.

"A fortune-teller?" The vantha paused, glancing at his konti companion. A brief flash of recognition showed on her face, but she made no comments, and so he pushed open the flap to the tent, gesturing for her to enter before he did.

"Greetings, Anselm the Seer."

[Anselm]

Continued in Eridanus' Fortune.