[Riverfall Location] Cavern Creations & What Boils Beneath

[Puck]

Cavern Creations Nestled on the second tier of Riverfall is a shop that everybody knows and some avoid. Cavern Creations is the abode of the city's resident inventor, a large establishment known for supplying the city with anything from clocks to bizarre contraptions upon request. If you can think of it, Minous Neret can create it. On the second tier of Riverfall, a small trapezoidal structure extends from the cliff side. A pair of large windows flank wide double doors that face the ocean to the west. A small windswept lawn decorates the front of the structure, a straight stone path leading to the double doors. No flowers or jewels adorn this structure, it is almost entirely plain on the outside. Two ramps flank the building's weathered stone surface, gradually sloping up to the roof. Extending from the roof is an iron reinforced crane similar to those found on ships for lifting cargo from holds. Beneath the crane can be found a hatch large enough to fit a small wagon through. This is how Minous Neret expedites large inventions, by lifting them from the interior and then carefully rolling them down the ramp. Inside the shop one finds a tall, Akalak height counter with worn tops of stone. Glass sheets shield smaller, more delicate contraptions from sticky fingers. Along the walls to either side are two pairs shelves that rest on rails. When Minous pulls a chain back, the shelves and their contents slide back behind the safety of the counter. Several chairs and a small table complete the lobby area for Cavern Creations, resting beneath one of the shop's large windows a customer's use. The area in which Minous creates his contraptions is not separated from the lobby by a wall at all, indeed the entire shop is visible from the entrance. A single large work table rests in the center of the room directly below the ceiling hatch. Cabinets, smaller tables, and various other stations such as a forge and drill press line the walls. To either side of the central work table can be found naught but open space, as large mechanisms are too unwieldy to work on the table. Predictably, the shop opens at dawn and closes when dusk hits. Yet Minous is there a good majority of the time, as he has contracted Riverfall porters to cart his materials up to his shop. Most inventions are by request, though there is a stock of clocks, small automatons, and basic devices on hand. Often Minous will be working on an invention at the time though, and is likely to hand the customer a handwritten form with various areas to fill out that will tell him what he needs to know about the invention. What Boils Beneath Outside of Cavern Creations, on the cliff side to the right, is a door. Hewn from heavy wood and waxed so as not to warp in the wet climate, the entryway sits unobtrusively by the shop. Opening the portal will reveal a stairway down to the sub-floor of Cavern Creations. Going down the spiral stairwell, one shortly finds themselves in a small, stone floored lobby. There are no windows, and only a pair of glowing spheres hanging from the ceiling grant a sickly pale light. Two chairs sit at a small circular table, and a sign is nailed to the far wall that reads, "What Boils Beneath". The only other feature in the room is a door next to the sign. Behind this door lies a large lab, approximately equal in size to Cavern Creations. Two square tables filled with neat rows of glassware fill the center of the room. A specialized firepit used for heating substances can be found on one wall, its chimney going directly up to link with that of Cavern Creations'. Several basins of water and barrels of other chemicals can be found against another wall. Many other facilities used for storing, cutting, brewing, reducing, and all manner of procedures can be found here. This room contains a small doorway that leads to Sivoret's cramped living quarters, and both are often rather warm from the heat of the forge. No inventory is kept in the front room, which is solely used for conducting business. When a customer requests something, Sivoret will go back to his laboratory to retrieve it or ask the man to return at a later date after he has brewed it. No customers ever go back into the lab, or really see anything other than the main entrance area and their product. Sivoret's explanation often explains that there are dangerous substances in the laboratory, and he would rather not expose customer's to them. All purchases are by request, as his stock changes regularly. Minous Neret : Minous Neret Race: Akalak Age: 97 Children: None Position: Inventor Skills: Gadgetry 58; Metalworking 32; Carpentry 30; Mathematics 30; Drawing 28 Description: Minous is quiet, reserved most of the time, and against all odds not overly eccentric in front of others. It is almost if, much of the time, he is ashamed of his inventions. He would much rather secret himself away in his workshop than speak with others, and some would even call him timid. He does not deal well with distractions, and can get extremely irritated at people and never show it. In contrast to Minous, Harevai is openly eccentric and overbearing on others. Where Minous is recalcitrant, his twin is sociable and belligerent. He does not hesitate to share the designs of an invention with somebody, and if they cannot comprehend what he is relating to them will lash out or insult them. Harevai does not cope well with incompetence, and expects everybody to be on a similar par with him. Minous is rather open minded, but Harevai refuses to engage in a two way conversation regarding something he is not proficient in due to his expectations. If he is not an expert at it, he will not pollute the air with inexpert opinions. Sivoret : Name: Sivoret Race: Human DoB: 55th of Winter 469AV PoB: Alvadas Title: Chemist Skills: Philtering 67; Herbalism 40; Medicine 37; Rhetoric 28 Gnosis: Ionu 2 Additional Info: When and why Sivoret arrived in Riverfall is to this day something of a mystery. But one day he arrived on a ship from the city of Alvadas and made himself right at home. Minous was one of the first friends Sivoret made in the city, being drawn to the complex deceptions and round about solutions of his mechanisms. Since their partnership began, the two have been working away in their little corner of Riverfall Sivoret is not reserved, nor is he open. Given the chance he could speak to somebody for hours on end, the conversation interwoven with the dramatic flair that only a patron of Ionu can bring. Indeed, watching him work is much like watching a magic show, the careful process of philtering mixed with flourishes and smoke and effects. Yet, after nearly two hours of conversation one would notice they know nothing more about Sivoret as the moment they walked in. Despite his casual demeanor most of the time, certain subjects flip a switch in Sivoret and his keen wit and sociability vanishes for a steely demeanor. What exactly sets him off is as vague as his origins, but most do not have to worry about such an occurrence. Suffice it to say, Sivoret is a confusing individual. Orolb : Race: Akalak Age: 53 Children: None Position: Voric's Apprentice Skills: Unarmed Combat 49; Brawling 43; Lakan 27; Intimidation 26 Description: Orolb is an Akalak of average size, lacking any true distinguishing features to pick him out in the crowd. However if one were to get to know him they would realize that he is the product of a tragic family lineage. Born as the sole child to Picalkas Ubhurn to a human mother who had died in childbirth on her third birthing, Orolb was soon orphaned as his father was killed in a struggle over Drykas slaves his raiding party had seized from the Zith- the clans wanted their people returned. Orolb is tight lipped and introverted around others, primarily because his trust is hard to gain. Only Sivoret and his charms managed to crack his shell and find the person beneath. Orolb's other half, Keloin is no better in regards to sociability. Except where the former is unlikely to lose his temper, the latter is ready to blow at the slightest mishap. This makes dealings with the pair dangerous, as it is difficult to determine who you are talking to until things begin going wrong. The difference lies in the details.

[Rosela]

(Flashback) 72nd of Fall 512AV Rosela had just closed shop and she high-tailed it down to Zhongjie. The sun was quite low, and she could only hope the place hadn’t closed yet. Whether what Leo had asked for was possible, she had promised an answer by the next morning. What Boils Beneath… She’d seen it once, when she’d passed by Cavern Creations wondering if there were any machines there that would automate her work. The philtering shop door had barely merited a second glance, professional philtering being useless to her at the time, but now she was glad she remembered it. The door was heavy, but luckily open, and she tip toed down the spiral stairs. She could hear the faintest tinkers from the bottom of the stairs, but nothing more. Stepping into the main lobby, Rosela felt mildly claustrophobic at the lack of windows, and the glowing spheres attached to the ceiling gave an unpleasant, unflattering light. She started violently as a human man strode out of the back room, looking unsurprised to see her. “Welcome, I’m Sivoret. What do you need?” He gestured to the plain, worn chair closest to her in front of the table – the room’s only furniture. Sliding into it, and suddenly wanting to run home and wash her dress, Rosela kept a professional face. “I need something that would fireproof clothing. I’ve heard of oils that wear off after a day, but I was hoping to find something more permanent? Or at least could go a little longer.”

[Rosela]

“Ah, fireproofing. Not as popular a request as one would think, in a city of warriors.” “But it can be done?” Rosela pressed, crossing her legs and leaning forward over the table that oddly looked significantly less shabby than when she had walked in. “Yes.” With a dramatic flourish with the pair of his hands, a small tree suddenly appeared in the center of the table, tiny boughs splayed widely, fire-red leaves shifting in an invisible breeze. Rosela’s fingers twitched forward to touch the tiny thing, but in another flourish, it vanished. “The Ember Oak,” he continued. “Creates a sap that can be distilled down into an oil that has just such the properties you need.” “That’s not the…ahem, actual size of the tree, is it?” Sivoret threw back his head and laughed heartily. “No, little girl, just an illusion.” An approximation of a laugh escaped Rosela and her lips twisted into a scornful smile. “How cute. How much for the oil?” His good humor dropped like a stone and his entire countenance soured instantly. “We have a flask of the oil for 140gm, but I’d be willing to part with a single dose for 30gm.” His eyes narrowed. “If the 140gm is simply too much.” “I’ll take the flask.” The words were out before she’d even had a chance to think about it. Whatever she’d said to set him off, she found herself unable to care. As though she couldn’t afford a 140gm pricetag. However, such an expense was too much to charge to the shop – there wasn’t enough room in the budget for it. She’d have to buy it herself. “Sold. Allow me to fetch it from the back, miss.” His tone had lost its scorn, but he wasted no time in disappearing to the back room. Rosela pulled up her purse and emptied two handfuls of mizas onto the table, a painful and rather heartwrenching process. By the time Sivoret came back out, she had just finished dividing it up into groups of ten. “140gm,” she proclaimed, doing her best to keep the tremor from her voice. He scooped the mizas away from her with a hand, and presented her with the flask, a glass thing with a band of woven reeds around the center. “Your oil, miss. Pleasure doing business with you.” Ledger : -140gm for a 5 dose flask of Ember Oak Oil