Solo Adrift In The Big City

[Kai']

29th Day of Summer 515av
Syliras City
Late Afternoon

　

　　Syna's light had broken over the awakening city of Syliras, chasing away the shadows of Leth's moon as the young Svefra woke early, eager to venture out into the unknown and explore! However daily chores to maintain his personal Casinor, The Puer Lavinium, had forced the young Svefra to stifle his hastiness for the better part of the day. Syliras was by far the biggest city he laid his bright sapphire gaze upon. The sheer diversity of people, trade and goods was enough to overwhelm the mind never mind the senses. The young Svefra left the safety and familiar behind as he ventured away from the Great Harbour and followed the main stream of traffic down a main cobbled road into the center of the city.
　　Along the way the road veered off in a million different directions, each time the crowd he followed dwindled in number. With no signage to direct his way, the young Svefra decided to keep Syna's gaze at his back, in the hopes that on the way home at sun set, he could do the same and find his way back.
　　Stumbling around Syliras at a loss, this soul was new to the paved streets and bustle of city life. The young Svefra was taken aback by the enormous scale and intricacy of the design of the city. He was simply wandering around the streets of his new home, getting a feel for the culture and sense of what was where, with no intention of spending his mizas. It was strange that Syliras worked primarily on a coin payment system, where as his kin would take more value in barter and trade. Yet it would be something he would have to adjust to if he were going to fit in and remain out of the Knighthood's iron grasp - whom he noticed patrolled the streets avidly in their clanking, shiny metal armour.
　　As the young Svefra passed a nearby fabrics shop, he paused to take a moment to gauge where exactly he was. Scratching his head in bewilderment as crowds of people shoved past and weaved around him expertly as experienced city dwellers learned to do over years of practice. The young Svefra was about to stop a friendly looking chap, extending his hand to stop the man as he passed when suddenly someone slipped their hand in his and began pulling him off the street and in the direction of a store. "Woah!"
　　A quick glance upwards, his bright sapphire gaze caught the words of the signage hung above its door as it read Fabrics Galore. Now suddenly indoors, it took a moment for Kai's gaze to adjust to the slightly dimmer lighting, also giving his mind time to process where he now was. Holding his rough and calloused hand in both of hers, was a beauty of a woman. Long brown curls bounced down over her shoulders, framing a warm smile as she giggled, "You looked like you were lost. Perhaps I can help you find what you were looking for?"
　　Still befuddled as to where he was, the young Svefra stuttered, "I, uh, you...what?" He chuckled at his own inability to form a sentence and ran his fingers - now released from the woman's grasp - through his coarse, salty hair. "Yes, maybe you help. I would much thank -" Arching an arm around at the shelving lining all four walls of the store and at the many pieces of clothing and fabrics of every kind and colour nestled upon those shelves, the woman pushed her trade, "We have many items of interest. Garments fit for a knight. Tailor made or straight from the shelf and at bargain prices."
　　His words cut off, the young Svefra smiled as he finally grasped what the woman had meant by 'help'. With a kind smile, he shook his head in polite decline of her offer of wares, "Sorry, no thank you. I looking direc -"
　　"Oh but we have strong, sturdy materials for a strong, sturdy man such as yourself. Come see, come see." The woman waved him to follow her over to a nearby table. Upon it sat a variety of shirts, vests and jackets of every size, material and colour. She seemed so enthusiastic and joyful, how could he refuse? Maybe just a quick look to appease her and then he could be on his way.
　　Feeling the weight of the woman's eager gaze upon him, Kai feigned interest in the pieces of clothing laid out before him, nodding his head with his lips pressed tightly together. "Yes, very nice. Though, please, directions to Great Harbour? I think me turned about."
　　With a coy smile, the young saleswoman got a cunning gleam in her eye, "I tell you what. You carry with you the smell of the sea and from the look of you my best guess is you are a Svefra no?" Kai simply nodded in response, what was she getting at? "So how about a trade? You purchase just one item from my store and in exchange I will give you the quickest way back to the Harbour?"
　　Kai chuckled to himself, she was a crafty one. Running the fingers of one hand through his short cropped chocolate curls, the young Svefra let his gaze drift over the vests and jackets upon the table once more as he considered her offer. It did get cooler in the evening, though the coat he owned was far too thick for a summer night, perhaps something in between. Then he would benefit in two ways and at the same time please the joyous saleswoman. "Alright, you have trade!"
　　Glancing over the vests on offer, premade to general sizes, he smiled as he pointed to a row of black leather, sleeveless vests, that tied down the middle with some sort of cord. "I try one of those?"
　　Elated at the prospect of making a sale, the woman drew out a measuring line from her pocket and set to sizing up the young Svefra. Lifting his arms out and measuring the length of his toned stretch of torso. Having his measurements the woman rustled through the pile of leather vests until she found the one she was looking for, "Try this one on to see the fit,"
　　Settling his empty backpack to the ground by his feet, Kai slipped both arms through the holes of the vest as the saleswoman held it open for him. Shrugging the vest onto his broad shoulders, he twisted around a bit to get a good feel for how the vest sat on him. The leather was soft and with no sleeves the vest didn't feel constrictive, looking back at the woman the young Svefra beamed happily, "It good, I take please,"
　　As the saleswoman helped pull the vest off Kai's shoulders and folded it expertly, she smiled warmly gently slipping the vest into Kai's backpack as he held it open for her, "For you for being such a good sport, only 9 silver. Also as part of the trade: once you leave here, turn to the right, carry on down the street for 4 blocks. Then turn left, follow the cobbled road for 2 blocks, cross over and follow the street for 1 block. Turn right and you should start to smell and hear the sea. I trust your Svefra blood can find the rest of the way from there, She gave him a cheeky wink, as a baffaled Kai landed the agreed mizas into her open palm. With his mouth slightly ajar, his mind was boggled with what she meant by 'blocks'. Sent on his way with mind reeling, he tried to remember the consecutive lefts and rights.
　　With his new vest tucked away in his backpack, which was held loosely in one hand, Kai mumbled to himself as he repeated the woman's bizarre directions, confusement plastered over his rugged features. He paused a moment outside the store, thinking of returning to ask her to repeat the directions, however knowing he'd never understand no matter how many times she repeated it, the young Svefra simply turned right and hoped for the best. Praying that the Gnosis Laviku bestowed upon him at birth would help him find the sea.

　

[Kai']

　　As Kai wandered the open, crowded streets of Syliras he found that the Fabrics saleswoman was correct in assuming that from within, thanks to the Gnosis of Laviku flowing through his Svefra blood, he could find the sea. From deep inside he could sense the pull of the ocean calling out to him. It was a comforting sensation, to feel where the sea was, no longer fearing the maze of Syliras as he could feel his way home.
　　With his mind now at ease, the paved labyrinth no longer scared him and the young Svefra could feel the tension easing out of his muscles. Sighing in relief quietly to himself the young male could now enjoy his venture out in the town, although he was still at a complete loss as to where exactly in the city he was. This would do no good, he could end up anywhere at this rate.
　　Circling the main streets, criss crossing the cobbled roads, making sure to avoid the racing horse drawn carts, Kai found himself looking for some sort of a book or scribe store. Finally in the near distance up ahead, his bright sapphire gaze caught the glimpse of a swinging sign with the picture of an open book carved into weathered old wood.
　　Navigating his way through the dangerously shifting crowds of people, he kept his gaze firmly upon the sign for fear he would lose sight of it. Stumbling through the store's door, a light chime from a tiny, golden bell hung above the door frame resonated through the thick silence of the quiet book store. The shop appeared small, cramped even, full of rows upon rows of shelving crammed full of books new and old. In the far back corner just in front and to his right sat a counter where a middle aged Sylirian, spectacles sitting on the edge of his nose, stood quite attentively behind.
　　At the sound of the doors chime, the quite impish man looked up from an old dusty book he had been reading and smiled warmly, "Welcome, welcome, have a good peruse if you like and if there's anything I can do to assist you, please don't hesitate to ask,"
　　Kai had no idea what a 'peruse' was, but it wasn't what he was looking for. Returning the short man's warm smile, the young Svefra gracefully made his way over to the counter, rubbing the back of his head as he explained his situation to the man, "Um, I find, lost in big city. You sell, map? To find way?"
　　The man chuckled to himself as he pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose, peering at the lost Svefra more clearly,"Oh don't worry dear lad, I've lived here near 30 years and even I still find myself taking a wrong turn now and again. I have just the thing," Raising a finger, to indicate Kai to remain where he was, the store clerk whisked around the counter and shuffled to a middle aisle, disappearing from view briefly. The fact that he had lived in the city for 30 years and still got lost himself did not fill the young Svefra with much hope that he would have any better luck.
　　"Ah-ha, here we go." After rummaging through the rows of books upon the many shelves, the impish clerk drew out from a stack of papers a thickly folded piece of parchment. Returning behind the counter, he unfolded the page with an expertly careful hand, spreading the large piece out over the counter - which nearly took up the whole work space - for Kai to have a good look at.
　　The parchment was the size of several pages combined, just as thick too and depicted large black lines surrounding the entirety of millions of squiggles, red dots and miniscule pictures of every design, colour coded and labelled in a key written on the right hand side of the drawing. Kai's bright sapphire gaze bulged in surprise as the vastness of Syliras City was finally revealed to him. How many years must it have taken to draw and map every street, shop, park and place of interest.

　

[Kai']

　　Suddenly, just as he realised the scope of the feat needed to draw every corner of Syliras a thought struck him, "How old is map?"
　　"Not a year ago was this one drawn. Not many new places have sprung up on Syliras's streets since. Although you may find a store or two missing, as is the way of business - stores open and close with the fruitfulness of the economy, heh heh."
　　Kai didn't know much about economies, business or the engagements of the running of a city - nor was he interested in finding out. All he wanted to know was how to work the map to find his way around, "How use?"
　　Waving a hand the clerk twisted the map around slightly so that both could see clearly, "Oh it's not that hard really. Now where are we, ah yes! Here we are right now," The man pointed his nimble index finger to a tiny dot painted in yellow, then lifted his finger and pointed to the colour key on the right side of the map, "Anything that is a yellow dot on this map, see here, is a shop or store or business of some kind. These black lines running everywhere are the streets and the thick spaces running parallel to those are the roads, see?" Kai nodded along as the clerk explained, his gaze flicking over every inch of the map and following the man's finger as he traced some of the lines indicating the streets of Syliras.
　　"Now see these red dots, with the tiny writing beside each? They are governmental buildings and offices and those in orange are the Sylirian Knight facilities. If you look close and hard enough the writing will tell you what each building is, whether it be the employment agency here or housing facility here, see?"
　　Kai grinned as he caught on how to identify and decipher the colour coding on the map, "I see. Green, be natural environments, parks, from Key?" Almost as if he were a proud father teaching his son to read, the store clerk clapped his hands together, "Yes yes! You have it!" With his smile reaching from ear to ear, Kai's gaze flickered over the map, assimilating the new information as understanding washed over him. Then he pointed to the small arrows of the drawing of a compass below the colour key, "How do use when it no turn like real compass?"
　　Raising a finger the clerk's cheek twitched slightly, "Ah, that is a bit trickier." He lifted up the map off the counter and out stretched his arms as far and wide they as they would go, checking over his shoulder that Kai could see clearly and that he was paying attention, "Now see where the arrow points north, this is the way you hold the map, with north facing upwards. When you walk the streets of Syliras you point the map towards North. So if North is to your left you turn the map around to the left like this -" As he spoke the clerk turned the map around in his hands, so that the marker for North pointed to the left, the map now appearing as if it were sitting on its side. "So then if you were to come out of the building here, you would be facing East, you see?"
　　With eyes squinting slightly as his mind struggled to grasp the workings of the compass on the map, Kai paused before giving a hesitant nod for the man to continue. "So if you walked east along this street here and say, turned right you would then be walking South down this way, you see how I mean? Where ever North is to you in real time, that is the direction you point the Northern pointer of the compass on the map yes?" Suddenly grasping what the clerk was trying to explain Kai nodded more confidently with a beaming prideful grin, "Aye, so when go I turn map to keep North at North?"
　　The clerk carefully placed the map back down on the counter mirroring Kai's prideful smile, a twinkle shining off his spectacles with his movements as he nodded joyfully, "Yes yes you have it!" Grinning like a child receiving praise from his Father, Kai dug a hand into his pants pocket, fishing around for his money, "I would like to buy please!"
　　"Oh well certainly young man, it is only 2 gold and I'm sure you will be navigating the City with ease in no time with this in your hands," The store clerk carefully began folding the large map back along its creases, soon the map that had taken up nearly the entire counter was suddenly as small as the clerk's palm. As he took the map from the man, Kai dropped 2 gold for the purchase of the map and an extra 2 silver as an added tip for the gentleman.
　　Clearly seeming confused at the extra coinage in his hand, the middle aged clerk opened his mouth to protest. Before he had the chance however Kai held up his hand, "Please accept, small gesture for teachings of how to work map," The man simply smiled warm heartedly as he thanked the young Svefra, who waved friendly as he made to leave through the door, its' soft chime ringing through the air as he departed into the throng of Syliras's busy street.

　

[Kai']

　　Leaving the book shop, Kai gently unfolded his new prized map and took a good look at it. Finding the yellow dot that he remembered the impish clerk had said was where they were, the young Svefra peered up to the blue cloudy sky, fixing where Syna's light was so that he could point his map North. Swiveling the map round in his hands, he then thought back to the Fabric sales woman's directions.
　　Only remembering the first few turns she had mentioned, he tracked the turns she had suggested on the map with his eyes, as they flowed closer to a large mass of blue coloured on one edge of the map he could now see what the woman was meaning by 'blocks'. As he studied the map he realised that most of the buildings were grouped together in an odd square-like pattern. She must mean a block ends when there is a road that separates a walkway from another directly ahead of it. Now the Sylirian's navigational terms were beginning to make sense.
　　Satisfied that he had a loose grasp on the way to navigate through Syliras - with the aid of his trusty map of course - Kai memorised the first few turns on the map that would lead him towards the Sea, towards the Great Harbour. Together with his Gnosis ability to sense how far away the Suvan was, he would be able to find his way home in no time.
　　Folding his prized possession back along its creases he carefully slipped the parchment into his pants pocket and headed back the way he had come, back towards the Fabric shop and - hopefully - towards home. Whether he would get there or not, was another thing altogether. The day had been a strange one, though was fruitful in not just new possessions, but in knowledge also. Though as dinner time approached, the young Svefra found his mouth parched and his stomach rumbling in hunger...

Ledger:Sleeveless Vest, Leather,
Dyed = -9SM
Map, City of Syliras = -2GM
Tip for Advice on Workings of the Map = -2SM

Total Expenditure for Thread = -3gm 1sm

Shopping Continued at Moderated Location　
And Again
Shopping Continued at Moderated Location

　

[Devi]

Your Grades have arrived! Kai Skills: Socialisation: 3 Observation: 2 Negotiation: 1 Land Navigation: 2 Cartography: 3 Interrogation: 1 Lores: Cartography: Using keys and compass points. Land Navigation: Layout of Syliras Comments: Nice little thread, very descriptive. The ledger note at the end was especially handy so thank you for adding that! Let me know if you have any questions and don't forget to edit your post in the Grade Request Thread. Happy Writing!