Nimi listened to her carefully as she picked apart a cinnamon roll. “Nothing wrong with that. I didn’t know quite what to do when I came to Riverfall. I knew a smidge about glassblowing but not how much I would come to truly love it as I do now. Just take your time, and if you decide you want a change of pace, try out something new.” She said with a genuine smile. Of course she’d had those Drykas to watch over her while she was getting assimilated into the city where as Inka was all on her own. Nimi chewed on that for a moment while Inka brought up the next topic.
Quite the delicate topic Nimi thought. “Well, to start they don’t consider you a citizen unless you are competent with a weapon. Meaning if you want them to respect you, and ease your transition after your Nakivak status is over, practicing with a bow might be in the cards for you.” She said, pausing a moment to meet her eyes before continuing. “These Akalak.. They’re can be different at times. While for the most part they will be polite as can be, occasionally that face slips. And when that happens too often they get branded with these elaborate facial tattoos. They call these men Cerulean. I would stay well away from them if I were you.”
Nimi breathed out a long sigh, and then put on her best smile. “Not that it is something you should worry about too much. Akalaks pride themselves on their discipline. They are very protective over the women here so it is unlikely any harm will come to you. Some of them can be a little.. Persistent so if you have a male friend it might do you some good to keep them close while you are out in the city. That is at least what I did to manage my first year or so.” She didn’t know if Inka had gotten to know any of the people she had traveled here with, but she certainly hoped so. Otherwise the road ahead of her was going to be a good deal more challenging.
“It is no issue, really. I know what it is like. Honestly, it took me a long time to improve my common, and fortunately I have a friend that speaks Nari who was able to help me through that transition. As for Tukant, the local language here. Well I could certainly still work on that.” She laughed, and sat back in her chair, feeling pretty full from breakfast. After a couple of chimes, she eventually stood up, and looked over at Inka.
“I’ve got to get back to work, but it was nice meeting you. I’m over at the Artfire Glassworks if you ever want to pay me a visit. We can catch up.” She said, and with that Nimi departed. Inka would have the rest of the day to do with as she wished.
It was not until late morning the next day that a representative from the Oathmaster’s tower came to fetch her. This Akalak stood at about six five and had the sides of his scalp shaved with his black hair forming a neatly plaited mohawk down the middle. His skin was a deep shade of green while his eyes were a pale blue. He wore a style of dress common to most Akalaks. An open leather vest, and black leather breeches that tucked right in to his high leather boots.
The task fell to Mos’Rila to explain what the man was here for as the Akalak did not speak in her presence. Wouldn’t speak for the whole journey in fact, and simply ushered her into the tower when she arrived. There a Konti took over things, also quiet at first though she quickly warmed up to Inka as the physical examination progressed. After it was done, the healer was happy to let Inka know that she had passed her examination and would be meeting with the Oathmaster soon.
That soon turned out to be about fifteen chimes before she was directed towards the third floor where she then entered Tuvos’ office. The first thing Inka would notice was that it was rather sparsely appointed with the furniture in the room barely taking up a quarter of the large room. Tucked into a corner was a bed that rested practically on the floor, and at the center of the room was a massive oak desk with two simple wooden chairs in front of it. In the larger more elaborate one behind it sat Tuvos, busy scribbling away at a piece of parchment on his desk.
“Take a seat please.” Tuvos said without looking up for more than a glance as he finished scrawling the last few lines at the end of the page. Then setting his quill aside, he looked up at her with a slight smile. “They have told me your name is Inka, and that you have only recently arrived in our city. Since that is so, allow me to formally welcome you to Riverfall.”
Tuvos sat back easily in his chair, resting his elbows on the cushioned arms. “By now you have been informed enough to at least grasp the process, yes? If so I’ll not waste our time by dithering over the basics. Instead I’ll ask you one very important question. Do you care to have a say in which Akalak takes your contract? Because if not, I can assure you that your reward will be very generous and we can afford to be very generous with your living accommodations. If not.. Well. We can offer you a modest credit until your contract has been taken, however should you go over that, there will naturally be penalties incurred.” He asked in a matter of fact tone as he sorted through the parchment on his desk. At last he came to the two pages he was looking for, and pushed them over to her before setting down the quill in front of her as well.
“If you’d like to be treated lavishly by the Council, sign the right one. If you think you can make it on your own, sign the left.”
Quite the delicate topic Nimi thought. “Well, to start they don’t consider you a citizen unless you are competent with a weapon. Meaning if you want them to respect you, and ease your transition after your Nakivak status is over, practicing with a bow might be in the cards for you.” She said, pausing a moment to meet her eyes before continuing. “These Akalak.. They’re can be different at times. While for the most part they will be polite as can be, occasionally that face slips. And when that happens too often they get branded with these elaborate facial tattoos. They call these men Cerulean. I would stay well away from them if I were you.”
Nimi breathed out a long sigh, and then put on her best smile. “Not that it is something you should worry about too much. Akalaks pride themselves on their discipline. They are very protective over the women here so it is unlikely any harm will come to you. Some of them can be a little.. Persistent so if you have a male friend it might do you some good to keep them close while you are out in the city. That is at least what I did to manage my first year or so.” She didn’t know if Inka had gotten to know any of the people she had traveled here with, but she certainly hoped so. Otherwise the road ahead of her was going to be a good deal more challenging.
“It is no issue, really. I know what it is like. Honestly, it took me a long time to improve my common, and fortunately I have a friend that speaks Nari who was able to help me through that transition. As for Tukant, the local language here. Well I could certainly still work on that.” She laughed, and sat back in her chair, feeling pretty full from breakfast. After a couple of chimes, she eventually stood up, and looked over at Inka.
“I’ve got to get back to work, but it was nice meeting you. I’m over at the Artfire Glassworks if you ever want to pay me a visit. We can catch up.” She said, and with that Nimi departed. Inka would have the rest of the day to do with as she wished.
It was not until late morning the next day that a representative from the Oathmaster’s tower came to fetch her. This Akalak stood at about six five and had the sides of his scalp shaved with his black hair forming a neatly plaited mohawk down the middle. His skin was a deep shade of green while his eyes were a pale blue. He wore a style of dress common to most Akalaks. An open leather vest, and black leather breeches that tucked right in to his high leather boots.
The task fell to Mos’Rila to explain what the man was here for as the Akalak did not speak in her presence. Wouldn’t speak for the whole journey in fact, and simply ushered her into the tower when she arrived. There a Konti took over things, also quiet at first though she quickly warmed up to Inka as the physical examination progressed. After it was done, the healer was happy to let Inka know that she had passed her examination and would be meeting with the Oathmaster soon.
That soon turned out to be about fifteen chimes before she was directed towards the third floor where she then entered Tuvos’ office. The first thing Inka would notice was that it was rather sparsely appointed with the furniture in the room barely taking up a quarter of the large room. Tucked into a corner was a bed that rested practically on the floor, and at the center of the room was a massive oak desk with two simple wooden chairs in front of it. In the larger more elaborate one behind it sat Tuvos, busy scribbling away at a piece of parchment on his desk.
“Take a seat please.” Tuvos said without looking up for more than a glance as he finished scrawling the last few lines at the end of the page. Then setting his quill aside, he looked up at her with a slight smile. “They have told me your name is Inka, and that you have only recently arrived in our city. Since that is so, allow me to formally welcome you to Riverfall.”
Tuvos sat back easily in his chair, resting his elbows on the cushioned arms. “By now you have been informed enough to at least grasp the process, yes? If so I’ll not waste our time by dithering over the basics. Instead I’ll ask you one very important question. Do you care to have a say in which Akalak takes your contract? Because if not, I can assure you that your reward will be very generous and we can afford to be very generous with your living accommodations. If not.. Well. We can offer you a modest credit until your contract has been taken, however should you go over that, there will naturally be penalties incurred.” He asked in a matter of fact tone as he sorted through the parchment on his desk. At last he came to the two pages he was looking for, and pushed them over to her before setting down the quill in front of her as well.
“If you’d like to be treated lavishly by the Council, sign the right one. If you think you can make it on your own, sign the left.”
