Foundations[Solo]

[Kalasshmalah]

45th Spring, 511AV OOC NoteSelf-modded with permission of Bina She had been brooding about it for some time now, but she could never see any other way. Never would she be able to get the mizas required to start her business at the rate she was going. Malah needed help. It was not an easy thing for her to admit. Feeling as though she were a hatchling all over again was not something she wished to repeat, but there was no way around it. She had spent countless years saving up every copper she could, and she still could only afford the "shop". Even calling it that was almost a disgrace. It was only a lab wit ha couple small bedrooms build into it. Now, though, she needed to get some stock, and it was proving quite troublesome. She would need at least two-hundred more gold mizas to be able to afford it, and wasn't prepared to wait until she was old and decrepit to finally get it. Hearing tales that you could get money from the Scorpions threw her for a loop. Surely there would be some catch to it, they would want something in return. And if living for over fifty years with them had taught her anything, it was that the Scorpions could be just as ruthless, aggressive, and painful as their namesake. Her mind couldn't help but wonder what it was she would lose in this deal, and she had no doubt she would lose. Having no experience in making deals, and needing the money desperately, she would be at a very large disadvantage. She settled on going to the closest group she knew of. A burly human who went by the name of Kaytan ran with a few thugs. From what Malah had heard, he was known for being ruthless, but his word was about as trustworthy as it comes from a Scorpion. Meaning as long as you kept a low profile and betraying you didn't offer much for gold, you were okay. Though if any bounty were put on your head, he wouldn't hesitate in claiming it for himself. At least, that's what his reputation was, having never met the man Malah didn't want to jump to conclusions. The shack Kaytan worked out of didn't lie far from her own place, so she arrived there shortly after setting out. It was one of the few places around that wasn't completely rundown, a testament to the power of it's owner. Two human guards were stationed outside the door, one on either side. The one to her left was slightly smaller than the other, standing at only around 5'10" she guessed. Both towered over her with ease. Should anything get violent Malah had little doubt they could also hold their own with the tulwars strapped to their sides. As she slithered her way up in Dhani form, the larger of the two grunted out at her arrival, calling out to her in common "What do you want?" "I wisssh to talk to Kaytan, I have an offer for him." She stopped moving when just shy of fifteen feet away. Coiling up most of her length, she waited as they whispered back and forth. Eventually, they settled whatever they were talking about with a slight nod, then they turned and the larger one spoke up again. "What business do you have with the boss?" Apparently, "business" was too vague for them. Fine she muttered under her breath, if she had to tell these low lives, so be it. "I'm here about getting a loan, I heard Kaytan could do that." They looked to each other once more, and whispered a bit before another nod. The smaller one ducked into the building leaving Malah some one on one time with the bigger guy. She didn't exactly care to start a conversation with the man, and it seemed the feeling was mutual. Waiting in silence suited Malah just fine. So there they sat for what seemed an eternity to her, but in truth was only about twenty minutes. She kept her gaze locked on the entryway, awaiting the news if she would get an audience or not. Eventually the man returned and motioned for her to follow. Bored of waiting, she wasted no time before slithering inside.

[Colombina]

More Spider Than Scorpion Kaytan was seated on a bench against the wall, as a spindly cobweb colored creature read over a ledger at a desk. The burly human was casually peeling a rare orange, eating it in slow sections. He didn't seem too worried, but he didn't seem to be in command of the room. The Symenestra sat in prominence at the table, clawed fingers gently turning pages of wadj. It's long white hair was tied back tightly though wisps of it were coming out, giving him an overworked air. The Spider glanced up at Kala, showing a young face. "Rumor has it you want some Mizas," he asked crisply. When Kala glanced to Kaytan, the Symenestra corrected her neatly. "I'm afraid Spiders are behind this Scorpion. At least in regards to larger coffers." The Sym leaned back, folding his hands in his lap, as if preparing to be bored by another plea for money to feed bad habits. If it weren't for his race, he ruminated, he'd be managing the coffers of some noble house instead of balancing the books of illicit loans. "So, how many Mizas and what for?" OOCChanged my mind, will mod a bit after all

[Kalasshmalah]

OOCOh? Awesome! I love your idea of the Sym controlling the money! Malah's eyes instinctively explored every corner of the room as she entered. From the Symenestra, to the man who she presumed was Kaytan. Back to the Sym, to a cursory glace around the room. They inevitably kept drifting towards the spidery figure, she had never seen one before. They weren't all they were cracked up to be though, it looks like a rough breeze would tear the limbs from it's body. It seemed she was relatively alone with the two, which made her think there was more to them than she could see. In this part of town, one rarely met with strangers without some means to defend yourself. As the spider spoke up, she glanced awkwardly to Kaytan, wondering when she would get to speak with him. She was countered with a slight correction, which amused her. The powerful Kaytan was controlled by the spiders? An interesting turn of events to say the least. Making a mental note to remember this, she began to slitherup to the desk. She was slightly annoyed at how bored he seemed. While she didn't expect him to jump in joy and cry out, he could at least seem content about the whole thing. Her anger was for the most part, hidden well. Save for an ever so slight flaring of her hood. She could imagine it could get repetitive handing out loans for some fool to get more Mirage, knowing full well they'd be back next week looking for more money. "I'm opening a poisoncrafting shop. I'll need two-hundred gold Mizasss, to buy ssome ssstarting ssstock." Malah wanted to keep it as short and simple as possible for now, less she somehow give them more leverage then they already had. In an attempt to appear more personable, she added a smile as an afterthought.

[Colombina]

The Sym’s eybrows lifted slightly with interest. It was like a pleasing gust of air had swept into the room “I’m sorry, did you just ask for a loan to begin a business?” The question was mildly rhetorical as the Symenestra waited for the information to fully register. He leaned back in his seat and propped his chin with tented fingers. “Fascinating.” A slight smile showed the tips of his narrow fangs. “Well, my dear Dhani, I am intrigued, though a word from a similarly toothed fellow, your smiles do little to persuade.” He resumed his previous posture over the ledger. “Applause for the attempt. I’m sure you’ll have a palatable one soon.” He flipped one page of the ledger back and forth, as if comparing totals. “Two-hundred is a good sum. Could buy a horse or two with that.” He was idly watching for her reaction, letting the air grow empty before continuing. “The charm of working with us is the fact you could walk out the door with the money in your scaly hands. However, I require repayment in three months with twenty-five percent interest. That’s two-hundred and fifty mizas if you are not math inclined.”   The Symenestra was making notes in a very fine hand on a new page of the ledger. He didn’t look up as he spoke. “Should you fail to make these deadlines, I have a sweet cousin who has a taste for exotic surrogates.” Kaytan huffed a low chuckle at this. “Now,” the Spider folded his hands on the table, “You know the terms. I want the details. Where will your little shop be and what is your business plan?”

[Kalasshmalah]

Nodding slightly to assure him that starting a business was indeed what she had come here for, she couldn't help but feel elated. This was a greater reaction then she had dared to hope for, showing that not only he was interested, but also that it was very possible she would get the loan. The comment about her smiles brought a low sissing of laughter from her for a few moments, before she managed to re-compose herself. Malah hoped he wouldn't get the wrong idea of it, but she just found the thought funny. "Thank you, but I don't think mossst will overcome their well-founded fear of my teeth. At least I hope they don't, it would make hunting much lesssss enjoyable." A slight shiver of fear ran through her lengths as he mentioned how much she was asking for. It was, she knew, a lot of money. But that he thought so as well meant it was more than his usual loans. Knowing that this posed a large risk to him, she was stuck wondering how she could alleviate that sense of discomfort. It struck her that there was no need, if he wanted the money back, they would just have to send a handful of thugs to her shop and steal everything she owned. Another shiver, this time of dread, wormed it's way through her. "It iss of courssse expensssive. There isss much to buy, which iss why I turn to you." She wasn't math inclined at all, but she knew two-hundred and fifty mizas was much more than shat she was getting. Was this really worth it? Malah stood on a slippery cliff, with a most certainly fatal fall should she make a step in the wrong direction. Malah had no clue what his threat meant, but she understood the gist of it. Pay it back in three months, or suffer some horrible fate. Bringing herself up to her fullest height though, she began to speak. "That will be done, I expect no problemsss in paying you back." After all, she had proven before that she was capable of doing very difficult things, Malah was sure she could do this as well. "I have a well equipped lab at the edge of the Pillarsss, I would work from there." She paused for a moment, and considered just how to condense her plans. Shifting her coils a bit, she began again "The Viper'sss Embrace, that's what I'm going to name my ssshop, will deal in many poissonsss. I'll ssstart out with a ssmall sstock from the loan I get here, but eventually I would like to be able to make and ssell all typesss of poisssonss. And to supplement my income, I would also create antidotes to the poisons. Ssso, if you are ever in need of a poissson crafter, I would gladly offer my sservicesss to you as well." Pausing for a moment to take a breath, she continued "Being located in the Pillars will help keep the Jackalsss away, and with all the Sscorpionsss around, I ssshould be able to find a good few cusstomersss." Waiting a moment to gauge his reaction, she slinked down to her normal height. "Iss there anything elssse you wanted to know...what sshould I call you?"

[Colombina]

Even if Kala had requested fifty mizas, the Spider would have looked at her gravely and impressed on her how much it was. Who was to say what amount of gold he really brooded over. As she described her business and location, the Symenestra nodded politely. "Amidst the Pillars? A dreadful location, but what else can one do when your wares require a certain amount of discretion. If you're good enough, the genteel sorts will come. They all trickle through here at some point in time, save our Lady Pressorah and her intimates. Say what you will, the woman has moral fiber despite being a by-blow." Kaytan flinched at this term, but the Symenestra was quick to pacify. "There, there, it was a compliment." He glanced to Kala, "These Eypharians, you'd think the Pressorah birthed them the way they guard her honor." When she asked his name the Symenestra laughed, "Either you are being bold or polite, Kala." Evidently he knew who she was. "Names are such personal things, I won't bore you with mine. 'Spider' is good enough. If you're feeling formal many refer to me as the Golden Spider. A ghastly nickname, but I have been called worse." He made a beckoning gesture towards the door, and Kala found the guard from earlier at her side. "Well, my dear Dhani, I will ponder your fine little shop. Don't look for us, we'll find you." He spoke lightly to the thug, as if he was a proper footman, "Do see Miss Kala out, Jera." With that, his head was bowed over the ledger, effectively ending their meeting. Before a decent reaction could be roused, Kala found herself squarely outside the door and Jera and his cronies were as useful as stone. The only thing left now was to wait. And wait she did. Two days later a sleepy looking boy dropped a rather heavy parcel in her hands. He gave no explanation, but mutely waited for her to open the box. Inside was a pouch holding the necessary funds and a white marble jar accompanied by a folded piece of wadj. The message was written in a thin hand with perfectly spaced lines: Kala, Have considered your proposal and decided to give you the funds as discussed. Also, a little starting present. Potent Symenestra poison is surprisingly hard to come by. Don't waste it. Regards

[Kalasshmalah]

Malah was indifferent to his comment about the Pressorah, never caring about the girl one way or another. She offered a little shrug to it though, waiting for the conversation to reach more interesting parts. "I would like to think both." She didn't catch it at first, perhaps from them sounding similar. But after it processed a bit she realized he knew more about her than she cared to allow. Visibly stunned, she was stuck on how he could have managed to learn of her family. Had he somehow gotten into the Dhani nest? No...that would take much more than a single Sym. Perhaps he knew some Dhani and they said something? But who would know her well? Did he talk to Vatak or Vhanet? His answer only brought her endless more questions."Ssspider." She said low. Not really paying attention to what else was said. Jera reaching her side and leading her out was all a blur. Had she been in her right mind she would have hissed and protested the human touching her, but she was very occupied trying to sort out all the implications of Spider knowing her whole name. The waiting was near unbearable. After the first day, she was beginning to jump up at every sound that might be construed as a knock. After the fifth or sixth time she had to mentally berate herself for being so jumpy. No Dhani should let another person get so under their scales. By the second day, she was almost tempted go look for a loan elsewhere. Surely she could have better luck at some other thug's place. A child found her just as she was going to leave to find another prospective place to get money. She accepted the parcel and opened it greedily. The money was there! Her shop would take off, and she would finally have some means of income. Pulling the note out, she began to read it. The handwriting impressed her, she could never get her's to look so neat. but that was nothing compared to the feeling of elation at finally having the money to buy her starting stock. Sending the boy on his way, she told him to relay her thanks to "Spider".