A Ghostly Task

[Neologism]

30th of Winter, 515AV
The loud rapping on the door of Levi's room might've woken the entire hall. But the other guests of the Solar Wing Apartments were wither just settling down for their rest hours or waking from them, and so no one was awake enough at noon to complain.

The small Inarta boy shivered in his boots, but didn't knock twice. Kenvell had a thing about respecting one's privacy. Considering his boss' profession, the small boy, Jojo, thought this funny. Yet he waited patiently despite this, counting the ticks in his head. He wanted five chimes to come before this Levi Remilian answered his door. Becuase if the man that Kenvell called for did not answer, then he would get to go back to the Gazette and have tea, yet as a courier he was his busiest during rest hours.

Then the light shone through the door onto the pale face of the Inarta.

"Levi Remilian?" The shrill shock of a pre-pubescent child nearly yelped up to the man. Jojo had meant to whisper it, but his disappointment of having his call answered made him speak a little louder than the rest bells called for.

[Levi Remilian]

Like any other day at the apartments the silent laze of the noon rest permeated the building. In Levi's room however, said occupant did not take part in this time of respite. The spiritist sat at a table dressed in his usual clothes, cloak and bandolier belt set aside on the bed while he kneaded dough in a bowl, pressing his palm down into the gooey and sticky mix. His fingers wiped around the bowl to ensure every last bit of the ingredients went into the dough. It was a tedium that was unavoidable if Levi was to be prepared. After a chime or so Levi pulled his hand out, flicking off a chunk of cheese that had refused to become part of the pre-soulmist, and split the messy dough into two glass jars. Today's preparation was ready for whatever encounter he may have, all that was needed was the blood. That part he could do when he needed to. Levi wiped off his whatever remnant of stubborn dough remained and sighed a heavy breath. In the short time here had been able to use his expertise to help a few spirits, but not as much as he would have wanted. For one there was no major gathering of ghosts to be found such as a graveyard. In fact he had not even found a graveyard in Lhavit yet. What did they do with their dead? There was still much that he had to learn about this city. Levi looked about his room. Naya was nowhere to be seen or sensed which was odd given she knew that it was the noon rest. She was bound to return probably any tick now since there was no one out and about at this bell. The spiritist stood up and went over to his bed to don his other clothes, wrapping his belt about and buckling it up. Two throwing daggers went into the sheathes as usual, but his longsword was left on the table for now. Gloves donned, he picked up his cloak and let it drape over his left arm as he sat down on the edge of his bed. The sharp sensation of a chill piercing into his head alerted Levi to the presence of a ghost coming from the window's direction. He turned around to see the expected spirit; Naya floated inside with a echoing sigh. "It's so boring with everyone sleeping," She glided up to Levi's side who merely smiled knowingly at her. He was about to reply when an unexpected short rapping caught the pair's attention. Spiritist and ghost stared at the door with surprise as silence once more reigned. No one had ever come to their room during their stay and now during noon rest off all times there was someone? Levi and Naya glanced at each other, the latter motioning wispy hands towards the door. The young man nodded and walked over to the door and opened it to see a small red-haired boy. The following loud yelp made Levi start though he kept his steady gaze on the visitor. He was looking for Levi? Why would the boy want to find him? The child must be younger than Naya by the looks of it so how could he have even found Levi's room? Did someone find out about his skills as a spiritist already? Why did the boy look disappointed though? The spiritist kept these questions and to himself as he answered with his usual low voice, "Yes that is me. How may I help you?" Behind Levi's right shoulder Naya peeked over, curious green eyes looking at the red haired boy though she kept quiet for now.

[Bee]

((Picking up where Neo left off))

The boy deflated slightly, he was looking forward to that tea. He hoped the man didn’t ask any questions, people always tried to berate him with questions that a lot of the time he didn’t have the answers too. “Why was this given to me” was his least favorite.

“From the Star Gazing Gazette,” he said as he handed Levi the scroll gingerly.

When Levi would open it up he would see a letter written with blue ink in a pretty cursive.

To Levi Remilian

I heard you were to the Den of the Lost. I was wondering if you would help me with a problem. Meet me at the Star Gazing Gazette today after noon rest to talk. I don't want to say much here, I’d rather say it in person. Let’s just say I have a need for your talents, if they exist like I'm hoping, and would like to speak with you about helping me with something.

~Kenvell Rimes

The boy didn’t wait for Levi to finish reading it, by the time Levi looked up from his letter the boy was gone and heading down the street to get his cup of tea.

~-~-~-~

If Levi obliged the letter, he would find himself in the Star Gazing Gazette. It was a small office, brightly lit, with papers, books, ink, and quills laying on the few desks inside the quarters. There was a second room, as seen by the door in the back, which was shut. When he arrived inside a man would look up from a paper he was reading and say,
“What brings you, lad? If you’re looking for information, everything is on the post outside.”

The door in the back opens and a brunette pokes her head out.
”He’s here for me, Lute. Levi, right? They said you were a gangly guy but I didn’t know that gangly.” She shakes her head. ”By the by, come in! I would like to have a word with you.”

[Levi Remilian]

"Star Gazing Gazette?" Levi asked; it must be some kind of news publication in Lhavit. He nodded politely to the boy and took the scroll, unfurling it and reading its message. Naya peeked over his shoulder to read as well. His eyes widened a little at the confirmation of his initial suspicions. This Kenvell Rimes... somehow they had found out about Levi's skills and even where he had been earlier this season. It was startling to say the least.

"I see, thank..." Levi's sentence trailed off when he saw that the boy courier was long gone after he had finished reading the scroll. Rolling it back up, Levi headed back into his room to pick up what he might need that day, jars, beads, longsword, daggers and all. Naya stayed looking for the boy outside their door for a tick before floating back in.

"So we're heading out to meet this Kenvell person, neat." Naya said, the natural lilt of curiosity present in her voice. Levi donned his cloak and clasped it together, ready and prepared for the day. He nodded to Naya and made his way out of the door. "Yes, time to see what they want with us."

---- After Noon Rest ----

It was not particularly hard to find the Gazette. It helped that the office was located in the Surya Plaza which was the area Levi's apartment was also located. On Levi's suggestion Naya was elsewhere for now, looking around the Plaza but not by his side. It was for Kenvell's sake and a matter of matters more than anything. The spiritist entered the office, eyes quickly scanning the room. It was of an appearance Levi expected; nicely lit with stacks of paper, books and various writing utensils all over the assorted desks. His gaze fell lastly on the person manning what appeared to be the front desk.

"I received a message from Kenvell Rimes earlier today is she here?"The answer came from the person herself, the woman who he presumed to be Kenvell interrupted and invited him in. He raised his eyebrow at the mention of 'gangly' and tried to not particularly mind it."Gangly..." He quietly muttered to himself. He followed Kenvell and bowed politely in the Lhavitian fashion upon entering her room. "I presume that you are Kenvell Rimes. I am curious as to how you found out about me and my being a spiritist when I have only been in Lhavit for a little while." He stated politely, still standing on the room's threshold, "What may I help you with, Ms. Rimes?"

Credit goes to the fantastic Firenze

[Bee]

The room had many windows and was brightly lit, a small sitting area of two cushion chairs sat across from a trim desk with many candles littering the side of it, though none were lit. Candle wax was all over the desk, some of the candles even leaking on to the sides, none if it made it to the ground-- or perhaps it did and it was just cleaned up, either way the hardwood floor was spotless.
"Please, have a seat." She said after she returned his bow, sweeping her hand to the chairs. For a moment she didn't answer him, Kenvell went behind her desk and organized some scrolls papers. The satisfying clicks of paper on wood breaking the silence as she leveled the stack.
"Well," she finally said once she had tidied the scrolls to one side of her desk ."I have eyes everywhere. It's how I gather information about the city, of course. While I won't tell you all of my methods, quite frankly I can't it's bad for business, but simply put someone spoke to me about a man going into the spiritist's shop and followed you home. The Solar Winds keeps track of its residents, your name was easy to find. I've been looking for someone with a particular set of talents, I hope I'm not mistaken in guessing that you're a spiritist. I have no idea of course, whether you are or aren't, you just don't see many people going in to that shop and I've been having my employees keep an eye on that store for awhile..."
She trailed off and took her bun out, ran her hands through her hair a couple times and then tied the bun back up. The woman was pretty, impeccable posture and eyes that were soft but intelligent. Her presence screamed respect but was without a tell tale hardness that many people in power held.
"Well, are you or aren't you? What I'm hoping to get your help with is a matter very sensitive to me, I can't just let everyone know. In that breath, I trust this meeting will be kept private." Kevell's eyes held no malice, they were, and had been this entire time, friendly and light. A woman seeking answers, needing help. Unbeknownst to Levi this wasn't the first time she'd had a meeting like this. She had a feeling though, attributing it to her honed intuition, she had found her mark.

[Levi Remilian]

Levi nodded and took a seat, his eyes looking around the office to take in the features of it. There was nothing out of the ordinary if one discounted that for the amount of things in the small office it was still immaculately clean and organized. It went to prove the kind of mind that Kenvell Rimes must possess. He quietly waited for the woman to answer his question.

At Kenvell's answer, the spiritist could not help but smile politely. Her explanation proved to confirm his suspicion that in addition to being the owner of the Gazette, she was a formidable collector of information if she was able to track him down like this. Not only that, but a very sharp minded woman at that. The kind of person that Levi felt that he could come to appreciate and like a great deal. Information is very important after all.

"This is just my own conjecture from what you said, but in my view the few people who would go to that shop would be those who lack the talent to perform the services offered by that shop. I was more in the mind your informants spotted a man walking around with a ghost in full public view. Levi said with a rather dry humoured tone and a continued polite smile. He almost immediately regretted saying that; he should have not gone off and tried to poke a hole. He should assuage the conversation.

"But you are right, I am a spiritist as you correctly guessed. " Levi said, trying to keep his voice even and professional in tone, "Tell me what the task is and I will help you to the best of my ability. I will also keep this matter private, though I'm not sure how long it will be until a certain ghostly sister of mine finds out..." The spiritist closed his eyes as he felt the temperature in the room drop a degree and the familiar presence enter his senses, "Which is now. Naya, I told you to stay outside."

A ghostly head popped out of the ceiling, curious green eyes looking down at the two below. "But it's so boring outside! And I wanted to see this Kenvell person too." Naya said as she came floating down until she is seated on Levi's lap. The ghost looked at the woman and upon materializing she smiled at Kenvell, "Hello! Nice to meet you Miss Kenvell!"

The spiritist sighed again and shook his head, "Nothing we can do about this now unfortunately," He opened his eyes again and spoke, "This is my sister Naya. I apologize for her sudden appearance, I hope you do not mind. So what is it that we can help you with, presuming this involves something of the ghostly nature."

Credit goes to the fantastic Firenze

[Bee]

Kenvell merely smiled and laughed. "Surely you've gotten rid of it by now?" His coy jab did little to her, under the circumstances of him being "summoned" here with no idea how or why it was unsurprising to her that he would try to one up her. As an information gatherer, and a well known one, there were usually two types of people who she dealt with. Those who said too much, sometimes doing as Levi did-- playing games, and those who said nothing at all, leaving her to sniff out the clues. With that statement, he confirmed what her people had brought to her attention. He was indeed the spiritist she was looking for.

Even so, he announced it right afterward leaving her deduction unneeded. "A ghostly what?" As she spoke it Levi's eyes closed and he looked almost serene. It was merely a tick or two after that and a small girl poked her head out of the ceiling, causing Kenvell to jump back and touch her chest reflexively. She stared at the little girl for a moment before speaking, watching as she floated down and took form on her brother's lap.
"Hm, uh, yes hello to you too."

It was a touch colder in the room with the ghost, but not awfully so. Being the astute woman she was, it occurred to her perhaps this was the ghost he was seen with. Now her demeanor changed, she stiffened but only slightly. Levi might not catch it. Her next statement came out coolly but in Kenvell's chest her heart was pounding.
"So.... your sister? She follows you around and you have no problems? This is interesting, no I don't mind. So you are able to tame them, not just banish them? I ask because, indeed, this is a family member which I'm having problems with."

Kenvell began rummaging in her desk. After a moment she pulled out two cups and blew in them to get any stray dust or debris out.
"Tea?" She asked as she rose from her seat to head over to the fireplace and grab the kettle. "I'm sorry Miss Naya, I would offer you some but I know your kind doesn't eat." She poured them both some hot water and then grabbed tea bags from a shelf, then replaced the kettle back on its respective spot in the hearth.
"I must confess, though I know a lot ghosts aren't my expertise. I've hardly encountered any." Settling back into her chair she picked up her cup and continued on. "It's about my mother in law. Recently I've gotten married. She was furious. My husband was trying to become a Shinya before we met, but as things go love got in the way and he decided to marry me instead. They take a vow you know. She heckled me daily. Then, over winter, she was struck with consumption and passed away. I would never admit this to my husband, but it was almost a relief. Then one night I had a terrible dream, I had woken in my bed ot find her hovering over me. Angry, spectral. I was terrified. She spoke to me a warning, that if I didn't leave my husband I would find myself in a world of horror. Soon after in the dream I went back to sleep. Or I must have because I don't remember anything after that other than I was terrified. The malice was palpable. I woke up in the morning confused, but thought little of it other than 'what a strange dream'."

Kenvell's outwardly calm demeanor had all but vanished. She was very obviously worried as she took a sip from the tea which had now defused enough to be drank.

"But there's more to the story. Not long after that dream things began to happen. My hair brush would fly from my dresser and strike me. I began seeing whispers of... something in the house. A wail or two. But now it's escalated and my worst fears have been confirmed, I don't think it was a dream. Nearly every day I see my mother in law and she's shrieking. Throwing things at me and cursing my name. My husband has tried to console her but it's no use. She won't listen to him and takes to haunting him too, echoing her disappointment. I thought about asking the Myrian who runs the shop but I don't want anyone to know about this. Who knows how loose his lips are. Do you think you can take care of this for me? I would be able to pay you say... 25 kina? And if you're successful you have my word I will find work for you elsewhere, if you would like. Though I am curious, are you able to tame them? This hurts my husband greatly."