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Considered one of the most mysterious cities in Mizahar, Alvadas is called The City of Illusions. It is the home of Ionu and the notorious Inverted. This city sits on one of the main crossroads through The Region of Kalea.
The twinkling of the bell resonated through the stuffy office, bouncing off the bookshelves and ceiling. Just as Chantilas reached to ring the bell a fifth time, a door opened at the back of the small room and a pretty, red-haired woman appeared. She wore a ruffled white shirt and a long, sensible skirt that swayed around her legs as she hurried into the office. The woman had the air of someone who often had to hurry to get to places. She flashed Chantilas a bright smile, the corners of her lips twitching as if they had already been turned upward one too many times that day.
Taking her place behind the cluttered desk, Serenity unceremoniously pushed some papers to the edge of the desk, clearing an island of emptiness atop the table surface where some of the mahogany wood could actually be glimpsed amid the clutter. “Well, hello there. I am Serenity Berrel, manager of this fine establishment we call the Sanity Center.” She spread her hands out in a gesture that encompassed the tiny office. “What can I help you with today?”
Her smile never slipped as she launched into a list of possible helpful topics, “Would you like a crash course in the illusionary state of Alvadas? Perhaps you’re here to acquire a job? Some lodgings? Are you in search of a particular person, place, or thing?” She drew to a halt, the corners of her lips twitching once again as she regarded Chantilas with bright, unblinking eyes.
The manicured finger that had been about to pluck the bell hesitated, finally drifting down to rest on the desk before it's keeper. He had no clue as to the name of the wood used to construct the desk but it had always been a favorite, of his and this little connection between his world and hers stole a smile from him. Chantilas tapped the desk three times, casually, but more to tell himself there would be time to daydream later. "Yes," eyes twinkling as they caught the light, "It's most likely I'll be needing several of those services."
The fantastical sense excitement that was washing over him from simply being in the city of his dreams carried over smoothly into his inflections but his mind was, again, elsewhere. Sanity Center? What an absurdly strange thing to put into a city of illusion. If he could assume that the illusions he saw before him, known or unkown, were illusions then they would be a truth; albeit a truth disguised as a lie. But the Sanity Center was problematic. It's existence was out of place, wasn't it? If he could just have someone to banter over this with.
Chantilas lifted his head to look at the books resting in the highest positions while his hands slipped into the pockets of his pants. "Fittings or flop first?" Again his gaze settled on the woman as if he was taking in her features only now. "What am I saying, I need to get out of these clothes and into some new ones." His current apparel, which weren't shabby in any way, was glanced at and grimaced upon. How one looked determined almost everything with people. "Then a place to change into said costume and stake as mine for an undetermined period of residence." Chantilas let his lips fall into a faintly lined smile. The young man waited in silence for approximately two seconds before turning slightly to his right and extending an open hand to Serenity. "I'm Chantilas Trevayne. Just arrived, to study in your city. Enchanted to make your acquaintance Miss Berrel."
“I don’t see anything wrong with what you’re wearing now,” Serenity said after giving Chantilas a quick look of appraisal. “But if you still wish to buy something new, I would recommend the Tattered Thread. It has a wide selection of different styles and the owner is very receptive to strangers. I would give you directions, but you know…” She trailed off with an apologetic shrug.
“As for residence, we have quite a lot of cottages available for sale. Most of them have been built at around the same time and have similar layouts. 400 square feet per cottage, fully furnished, and it even comes with a curtain that separates the bed area from the main room!” Serenity said, her voice taking on an excited edge that wasn’t quite genuine. She had been saying the same thing much too long to be truly excited about a curtain. “The address of the cottage has no bearing on the price, seeing as you can be living next to the Gaping Maw one day and at the heart of the city the next. We would require a one-time payment of 500 golden mizas and then, the cottage is yours.”
A smile tugged on the corners of Serenity’s lips, this one appearing on its own accord, with no prompting from the woman herself. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Trevayne. I’m glad to see that you are considering prolonged residence in our city. Most people don’t,” she added, her voice taking on a slightly desolate edge. “But it’s quite all right, really! The people who do stay here tend to make the most of it.” She said, brightening up immediately.
“So, Mr. Trevayne, will you be purchasing a house today?” she asked, the saleswoman smile back on her lips.
He truly had no idea what she meant by not being able to give him directions, but it excited him. What if everything was like the road to the city gates and all one needed to do was think of where they wanted to go? Or what if it was all like the phenomena that drove him into the shop? Then he'd have to solve a puzzle every single day! He almost bounced on the spot. And while Serenity was doing her best to make a sale on a housing unit Chantilas was already forming the rest of his schedule for the day; which mostly consisted of taking as many sights as possible.
The little bit of his mind that was devoted to the current conversation however was starting to reeducate it's self on Serenity Berrel. He was no real salesman himself, only enough to garner the attention of a crowd or pretty lass, but this woman had made him mildly excited about this separating curtain. He'd hate to have to renegotiate price with her in a few years time when her skill had improved. "Well," he started, half chuckling, "Find me the key Ma'am. I do believe you've sold me a house." Chantilas knew his father would have tanned his hide with a spiked belt for not even trying to negotiate the price down but it was also because of this fact that the younger man did no such thing. He was finally on his own, out in the real world, with no one to hold his hand and Chantilas never did have the stomach for haggling. Not to mention it felt good to do something his father would have burst a vein over, and not be punished for it.
The rucksack he'd been holding in his left hand, though completely forgotten altogether since entering the city, was opened. A quick scouring from inside returned a smaller pouch. From this Chantilas scooped up a handful of the golden coins, counting out one hundred of them as each one was unceremoniously dropped back into the rucksack. There was no way to hide the air he gave off, it was unconscious the way he acted, he was used to being around money. Once he'd finished his counting the pouch was lightly tied off, then held out to the woman with another charming smile. "There you are. Five hundred shiny Mizas. Count them if you like, but I wouldn't lie to someone who knows where I sleep." He adopted a slow smile and friendly wink.
“Excellent!” Serenity exclaimed. Pulling open the top desk drawer, she began ruffling through its contents. After about a chime of searching around the drawer, Serenity finally came away with a key in her hand. It was quite ordinary as far as keys go – copper coating, average size… The only distinction that made the key unique to an Alvadas house was the shape of the key’s teeth, which were slightly curved at the edges.
She slid it across the table to Chantilas, saying, “They key possesses an aura of Djed that is unique to its corresponding house. Seeing as the position of your residence will chance frequently, the key will provide you with a way to always find it. You may be feeling some slight force pulling on the key – an invisible string of sorts. If you ever need to locate your cottage, all you have to do is hold the key in your hand, and follow this invisible string. As long as your mind is relaxed, and free of obtrusive thoughts, you will be able to feel the cottage’s pull on the key.”
Serenity smiled in return as she took the pouch, and brusquely dropped it into the same drawer from which she had retrieved they key. “I hope you’ll be satisfied with your house, Mr. Trevayne. Will you be needing help with anything else, today?” she inquired, her tone pleasant, but businesslike.
Mod Note :
Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of an Alvadas cottage! Since the house is yours, you can do whatever you wish to it. Feel free to describe it and the furniture within as you see fit, as long as you don’t go overboard. Remember, the house is only 400 square feet and is sparsely furnished. Here is a general floorplan of how the cottage would look. Feel free to tweak the details. You may also create a location thread for your house - something like “[Alvadas Location] Chantilas’s Residence”. That way, you’ll be able to keep the description of your house in one place (should you choose to write one) and any visitors will know where to drop by. I would also add it to the private residence category in the Alvadas Linkmap. Again, this is completely optional. Enjoy .
by Cadence on December 11th, 2010, 1:38 am 
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