Open [Event] Traders from Wind Reach arrive!

[Oscar]

Oscar set his jaw at the price, he had not been far off on his original price and it was indeed high as he suspected. He certainly had enough money and then some, plenty to spend as he saw fit. The Inarta's initial words about the creature sent a flare of anger through his mind, which he quickly crushed under his discipline as a healer. It was difficult to stomach such words, but he was willing to endure for as long as he had to. He was about to accept the man's price when he noticed Shausha's interruption with widened eyes. Oscar did not dislike the Zith, in fact it was safe to say that he was growing fond of the winged creature despite her disturbing habits. He suspected Shausha was causing a ruckus yet again, as was her way. It was quite irritating at times but endearing in its own way. Unfortunately, now was certainly not a time when he had wanted to run into her. Who knew what ideas she might get from this situation? "Shausha, please just let it go. We will talk later if you wish, I need to wrap up this business." Oscar said as gently as he could. He returned his attention to the cheerful Inarta, his legendary patience still very much intact as he smiled happily at the young man. Calm words and a friendly demeanor served him well at the best of times and the worst of times. "I will meet your price of three hundred and fifty gold mizas, sir. We have deal. May Rak'keli hold you up at the worst of times. May Priskil guide your path when it is dark." The young healer said, extending his marked hand for a shake. Anyone, no matter if they were the darkest Agent of the Black Sun, or the most bloodthirsty warrior of Myri, deserved the blessings of his deity's. He was certainly not personally fond of this young man's business, but he at least conducted himself with some bright outlook. Oscar supposed that it counted for something. He continued to smile as he finally allowed the scholar inside him to come forth. "Now that our business is concluded, my friend, I wonder if you might regale me with a description of your homeland. I have considered travelling to see Winds Reach myself at some point. You mentioned something about Endal and Avora, what do these names signify? If you don't mind the questions of course." Oscar asked, cocking his head curiously. Immediately he forgot his forgetfulness of his manners hit him. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. How forgetful of me. I am called Oscar, my I have the pleasure of your name?" He asked.

[Poison]

„It’s very dark now, so I’m grateful for Priskil’s guidance“, the Inarta replied, as if he had taken Oscar’s words literally and shook the healer’s hand.

„Do you want to pay now or later? And when would you like to get your new slave? She’s currently staying with the Aconite Web, if you haven’t heard it yet. You should probably get her out of there before too long so that people don’t get the wrong idea and try to abduct her. Female slaves seem to be very popular in this place for some reason.“

„I’m Rhyon“, he replied as Oscar asked him about his name and smiled. „And Endal and Avora are castes. We have a cast system in Wind Reach. The Endal, the eagle riders are the highest caste, and the Avora are artisans. Then we have the Chiet, the commoners and the Dek which are the lowest of the low. I’d love to tell you more about Wind Reach, but I’m afraid that Liane will get mad at me if I do so now instead of selling our wares.“

He cast a glance at the woman who was still talking to Sinvala before he turned to face Oscar again.

„So how about we meet in a tavern this evening, I tell you about the Inarta and Wind Reach, and you tell me a bit about how you ended up living with the venomous ones? I’d really like to hear that story! It’s probably a good one.“

OOCSince Oscar’s, Sosicly’s and Sinvala’s parts of the event aren’t connected, I’ve decided to reply to Oscar’s post so that he can get his new slave. Sosicly and Sinvala, feel free to post whenever you have time.

[Oscar]

Oscar chuckled lightly at Rhyon's remark about the low light conditions in Kalinor, it was not exactly friendly for those not accustomed to the lightless caverns that was true. There were more than a few times he'd nearly taken a plunge he was certain he'd never return from. The chuckle felt good, genuine, a rare thing for him these days considering the number of fake laughs and forced smiles he had to wear now days. It still unhinged him how easily Rhyon spoke of slavery, but Oscar saw humanity in him and it was actually welcome compared to the cold demeanor of the Symenestra. "I am more than willing to pay now, the money is back at the Public House of course. One can't very well afford to be weighed down by a sack of Miza's here." Oscar joked lightly. "I'd like to get her as soon as possible, you are indeed correct about abduction being a very real possibility." His words were a little more sober at that statement. He noted Rhyon's unsure words as to why female slaves were popular, Oscar was aware that rumors were abound about the Syms. The young healer had an extremely good idea what the surrogates were used for, he had yet to witness their fate but he felt in his gut he knew. Those pregnant gave birth but they were never seen again, Oscar was unsure he wanted to know exactly what happened. The healer made a note of the so called castes of the Inarta, it was fascinating. Wind Reach had been a place he had considered visiting at some point, but the journey seemed far to perilous for him to make alone. Perhaps one day but not anytime soon, after all he still had a purpose here and a duty as a healer to uphold. Exchanging tales with Rhyon seemed an excellent idea to Oscar, he had long been without friendly and somewhat normal conversation. It had all been Zith and odd Symenestra, very little else. "I would welcome a good talk with someone so friendly. I hope the tale is up to your expectations." Oscar said with a light chuckle.

[Poison]

„Well, I suppose we’ll have to go to the Meadows Public House then“, Rhyon remarked as Oscar told him where he kept his money. „It’s run by those … how are they called? … Aconites as well, isn’t it? Why do the Symenestra have such strange names? Anyway, we’ll get the money, then you had over to Laudavyn’s place, pick up your new wife, slave or whatever she is, and in the evening we meet for a drink and exchange stories. How does that sound?“

„I’ll just have to let Liane know that I’ll be gone for a few chimes. She won’t let me go if all I do is talk, but if I’m making a sale …“ He grinned a little. „You’ll like her. The Dek, I mean, not Liane. I wouldn’t want to live with Liane if she were the last woman in Mizahar, but the Dek is a hard worker and rarely talks back.“

„I’m not sure what her name is though. I never asked her.“ With that he went to the older woman. They talked for a chime or two. Liane looked in Oscar’s direction once, frowning slightly, and then Rhyon walked over to the healer again.

„So, shall we go?“ he asked, smiling. „I bet you are excited to finally have your own Dek. She even speaks a little Common.“

[Oscar]

OOCSorry if I skipped around too much, let me know if you want me to edit my post and I'll do so The healer had noticed the slight frown cast in his direction, perhaps she had hoped to wait for the Symenestra to offer a high price for the Dek. It was a strange way of thinking, but such were economics. His eyes followed Rhyon as he walked back over to him, the man always was rather cheerful. Oscar smiled slightly again, nodding in earnest at Rhyon's suggested plan. The walk to the Public House could be tricky if one was not exactly sure footed but it was no more perilous than travelling to the Place of Purging on a good day. Traversing Kalinor in general was rather difficult for non Symenestra, Oscar only made due with the assistance of his hosts on most days. Plummeting to his own death was not exactly his idea of a good time. "That sounds like a lovely plan, lets be off as I would not want to keep you from your duties for too long." The healer said as he clumsily set off down in the direction of the Public House. Hopefully Rhyon was sure of foot, falling from this great height gave one near zero chance of survival. The healer opted to lead the way, by this point he had some idea of how to properly navigate the city. His own knowledge was hardly perfect but he had been living here for well over a season. "These Dek sound rather resilient, I certainly hope that she can cope with life in Kalinor. It can be... perilous at times. The symenestra are not the most welcoming of races but they are hospitable to those useful I have noticed. Perhaps she might prove useful in assisting me in my work. Another woman might calm the surrogates." Oscar mused aloud on the way to the Public House, clumsily moving with ill grace through the caverns of Kalinor. The idea seemed valid to him, the reason he was even welcome in the city was that his mark, medicinal knowledge and compassionate way of treating the surrogates. It calmed some, though others seemed to view him as a traitor to his own race. Other called him a hypocrite for being a healer and yet allowing this to continue. It stung, but he knew it to be true, he should be pleading for an end to blood shed but the sick thing was that he also had come to realize that the Symenestra were in a bit of a rough spot as well. They did this out of necessity, not wonton cruelty. Once finally arriving at the Public House, nearly tripping and coming dangerously close to going over the edge at some points, Oscar quickly located his own stash of gold mizas. He possessed a respectable amount of wealth accumulated over time, healers received a fairly large payment for their services. He gathered the agreed upon sum and quickly handed it over to Rhyon. "I believe the money is all there, Rhyon, shall I head over to Laudavyn to inform him of the transaction then?" Oscar questioned. The healer had never made Laudavyn's acquaintance, then again the Symenestra rarely saw fit to interact with him unless they needed something. Ah well, such was the way of things.

[Poison]

Fortunately Rhyon turned out to be quite agile. He didn’t stumble, he didn’t fall into the darkness below Kalinor and get eaten by whatever lurked down there, but moved with confidence. „She sure is resilient“, he replied. Most Dek in Wind Reach had a short lifespan. This woman had lived to adulthood though. Rhyon debated on telling Oscar how hard life was for a Dek in Wind Reach compared to Kalinor, but then he decided not to. If he told the healer what had made the woman so resilient, he might not want her anymore and worry that she had some kind of contagious disease. „She’ll cope. Wind Reach isn’t always the most hospitable place eitherm, especially not for Dek. It might indeed be good if your surrogates had another woman to talk to.“

Truth to be told, Rhyon wasn’t sure how long the Dek would be Oscar’s Dek and whether they would even get to the point where he could train her to assist him. Some of those Symenestra sure seemed to be eager to get their hands on a human woman. Maybe they would steal the Dek, even though Oscar had bought her. Rhyon considered warning the healer, but the man probably already knew everything about the Symenestras‘ habits. Besides, once the Dek had been handed over to Oscar, she wouldn’t be his, Rhyon’s, problem anymore.

Once they had arrived at the Meadows Public House, Rhyon went in together with Oscar to make sure he really got the money. He briefly examined some of the coins, and then, confident that they were genuine, he answered, „Yes, go to Laudavyn. If you give me a piece of paper, I’ll write a little note for him, stating that you’ve bought the Dek. Otherwise he might decide to give you problems. People expected a Symenestra to buy her after all.“

[Oscar]

Oscar was even more curious about Wind Reach now despite himself, Kalinor was rather inhospitable to humans so he couldn't imagine what made Rhyon's home so formidable. Perhaps he would come across it in his travels some day, considering the places he had been it wouldn't be out of the question. A thought for when he and Rhyon could share stories over a good drink, not for the business at hand. The healer was slightly wary of how safe the woman would really be in his care, safer than if she was in Symenestra hands but that wasn't saying much. It still shook him a little that the situation had come to this point where he needed to buy her to be able to provide even a possibility of safety, never in his life did he think such a thing would occur. Hopefully Rhyon was right and the adaptation would not take overly long, it was a hope at the very least. Perhaps Priskil's light might yet shine here in such a dark place. He waited a beat for Rhyon to provide him with the paper, nodding in gratitude when it was presented to him. All that would remain would be to actually acquire her and the deal would be set. Losing so much money was really a drop in the pond compared to the amount he made on a regular basis, it could be recovered later. "Thank you Rhyon, I look forward to seeing you at a later date." He said, giving him another incline of his head before seeing himself out and leaving the Public House. Once more the balancing act of getting around Kalinor was rather harrowing, perhaps in time he would get used to it but such was not the case at the moment. The healer simply told himself not to think to hard about the possibility of falling and to focus on keeping his balance. Compared to the graceful Symenestra his navigation was clumsy, awkward, and probably amusing to the native inhabitants. He took the facts in stride as he moved as best he could in this city not meant for his kind. Being separated from the light of the sun had at first been rather uncomfortable, but the soft glow of the lovely crystals had rather grown on him. It was no true substitute but it served well enough. Compared to when he had first arrived Oscar liked to think that he was well enough adjusted to life underground. The journey to where the Dek was located was not nearly as bad as he had first feared, he'd only nearly lost his balance twice. 'Twas a new record to be proud of in his mind. He carefully composed himself, brushing his cloak and brushing his ample hair back out of his face. This accomplished he strode up to Laudavyn, inclining his head slightly to the Symenestra and held out the paper. "Greetings, Laudavyn. I am the one who purchased the Dek. I would like her as soon as possible." He said in his halting command of Symenos. Hopefully he wouldn't give Oscar too many problems, the healer just wanted this business to be done with.

[Poison]

Laudavyn Aconite was a busy man these days. He arranged most of the trade between Kalinor and the rest of Mizahar, played host to the visiting traders and made sure that both surface dwellers and Symenestra behaved and nobody came to harm. As the head of the Aconitium he was one of the most powerful people in Kalinor besides the ruling couple and the priest of Viratas, and with his dark hair, golden eyes and quiet, friendly demeanor he was the perfect Symenestra face for the outside world.

As Oscar entered the Aconitium he was just sitting behind his desk and trying to organize a mass of papers. Paperwork was one of the most unpleasant side-effects of his position. Seeing the healer, he looked up, put the papers he had been working on away and smiled gently. The human had turned out to be a great asset to the people of Kalinor, despite the fact that he still had some trouble moving around the city. Previously there had been a lack of Rak’keli’s chosen in the Purging.

The smile vanished for a moment though as Oscar revealed why he had come. Laudavyn had considered using the Dek himself. He was in his fourties and rapidly approaching infertility. In his youth he had been too busy to go on a Harvest, now he regretted that.

„You bought her? Do you have proof of the purchase?“ he asked and considered the possible options he had now. He could say no and claim the Dek had been reserved for a Symenestra, he could refuse to hand her over, but if he did that, the traders might complain.

For now it would be best to give the woman to Oscar. If somebody harvested her, it would be Oscar’s problem.

„Very well“ he remarked once Oscar provided him with the requested proof. „She’s on the lowest floor of the Aconitum. One of my sisters is taking care of her.“