27TH OF FALL 511 AV
MEKANIKS AND GOLAMS
It was another day spent in the confines of her shop. No sun, no pretty clouds. No outdoors. Days were beginning to become straightforward since she opened up Mekaniks and Golams. There was an endless need for stocking and restocking. People came looking for something she didn't have. Sometimes they came buying all of one item. The money came in trickles. Some days she could sell a piece or two, other days there was just no one passing by. Jil considered getting a few gold mizas back for her wares as a good day. Judging by the ledger that she kept, Mekaniks and Golams wasn't about to go fold and close. Far from it. It just needed to pick customers up the business and roll the cash in.
That needed a lot of work, but she was set in her objectives. A Nuit convinced is a Nuit determined. Jilitse took every step necessary to keep herself aligned with the goal of making the shop succeed.
And it just happened that today was a lucky day!
The first step in tripping upon extremely good luck was to acknowledge the opportunity, no matter how unfortunate things appear to be at first. A positive outlook and light-hearted attitude preferable, but not required. The second is to accept the event and go through the motions, fighting either logic and emotion that would go against serendipity. The third is to take advantage of luck and fate. A small offering or prayer of thanks to the gods Ovek and Lhex would be greatly appreciated, though not obligatory.
This recipe was not for Nuits, of course, and Jil hated disruptions in her plans. Nonetheless, she would consider this stroke of luck a boon. Jil could follow the tempo of her new life with great adaptability, that much she could prove.
It was high noon when her customer of the day arrived, a comely woman plump due to childbirth. She had her curly brown hair held by a lacy cap, and she wore fine clothes, which said something about her purse. Age had shunned her beauty, and there was a matronly feel about her. Like a distraught mother, a pre-occupied wife. She arrived in front of Mekaniks and Golams like she had meant to visit, stopping and closing her toes in front of the door, and later peering at the shop's window. She appeared disinterested of the wares being sold, looking for something else.
Jil appeared from a dark corner, neck extending out of the shadows. She looked curious, the usual emotionless face bearing a semblance of greeting. The woman greeted her with a voiceless, "Are you open?" She nodded and let the visitor in.
The woman looked around the small space with interest, but never setting her eyes on any of the items on the shelves. "Greetings." Jil asked, "How may I be of help?" It occurred to the Nuit that the woman did not come alone, as there was a thin leather leash tied to a fashionable bangle. Jil traced the end of the delicate rope with her eyes- it was obviously not meant for restraining a pet - and met a young man. He was dressed in the same fashion as, Jil deduced, for they kind of looked like, his mother. There was something odd in his actions, he walked without swaying his arms, and hand his hands curled under his chin, as if mimicking an animal. He approached the woman timidly and bowed his head shyly. The boy was a full grown man with the disposition of a kid.
"We require your services," The woman added, "He has been looking forward to meeting you."
"I see." Jil would never put forward her skill in animation unless needed. 'I am gadgeteer' was her front unless the customer was interested in golems; 'I've been alive for 5 centuries as a mage in Sahova', was her proud heritage when customers wanted a guarantee on her shop's golems. Her shop sold more 'Mekaniks' than 'Golams', but those who wanted Golams paid more, much much more, than those who ordered gadgets. She need not think twice of her visitor's ability to pay for whatever request she had, but she had to be careful not to dampen the willingness. Ever politely, she asked, "May I get your names?"
"You may call me Missus Rhian, and this is my son Jojn." She said, "We are in the assumption that you can," she hesitated, "raise the dead." It was a sentence, not a question.
Ah, so this customer was straightforward. "That is partially true, Missus Rhian. I am able to animate corpses." She followed this fact with, "But in the sense of bringing back those who have joined Dira." A short pause, and a glance at her customer's face, "I apologize for I do not have the capability to do so."
Rhian raised a brow, nodding as if she had confirmed something important. "I thought so, too." She said, "But I just had to hear it straight from you. I heard this from a neighbor who heard it from a friend... It's a long story, you know how gossips, I mean, word of mouth, go." Her boy beamed a smile at Jil, and the woman noticed this. "It appears Jojn could attest to your honesty."
The man-boy pulled closer to his mother and whispered something inaudible. Rhian then told Jil, "I have seen your work. Both your regular items and the special ones." She added, "We wanted to hire your services."
There was small talk, more than Jil would have liked. Rhian overlooked not a small detail from the backstory, "We are aware that you're not an Alvad, Miss Jil." This hinted that whoever was the source of her referral was aware that Jilitse was from Sahova. And that her name was also passed around. Good, the shop would gain popularity if this continue. Jil only needed to live up to her customer's expectations, and if possible, exceed them.
"But maybe you've been around long enough to know what Alvadas is like." Jil confirmed this with a curt nod, and Rhian continued,"We've got at a problem at home. This has been going on since forever. My cook uses too much pepper whenever she would cook, and my poor boy here don't do well with pepper." Jojn stuck out his tongue in disgust.
"It would be nice if the pepper stayed in the food that my cook would cook, but the pepper is everywhere! Always everywhere, like dust!" She proceeded to complain arrogantly, "And Jojn here, as a kid he hated pepper, and he would bawl his guts out if he could at the scent of it." Jojn looked more and more distressed as Rhian continued her narration. Jil knew there was a hidden story in the tale, and she had to catch those inaudible hints, things that are revealed only by facial expressions and behavior. "I am a very disciplined woman, Jil." She waited for no accolade, "And I do not take kindly to boys who bawl their guts out like they were silly little girls." Jojn's lower lip trembled.
"I would do something about it. But my cook is the best I ever had, and her family's been serving my family for generations, if you get what I'm saying. I can't just throw her out." There was genuine exasperation in her voice. Jil could now put one and one together. If the missus did not take kindly to boys who cried, and she could not throw out her cook which means there was always pepper everywhere, which in turn meant that the boy always cried and misbehaved... then he must have been a, to put in kind words, well-disciplined boy.
"A well-disciplined boy Jojn must have been then." Jil commented, though she meant not that the boy did not misbehave, but that he was disciplined well by Rhian. Of course Missus Rhian did not catch the pun. And wouldn't have found it punny nor funny had she understood what Jilitse meant.
Rhian was stern-looking as she said, "Nothing pained my heart more than to see my boy suffer from pepper." She quickly switched to an affectionate tone, "I tried various means to remedy his allergy, but found none. I mean, eventually the bawling stopped but he never did grow up properly."
What manner of abused child would, Jil thought sarcastically. But Rhian was a customer, so she waited for the order to be placed.
MEKANIKS AND GOLAMS
It was another day spent in the confines of her shop. No sun, no pretty clouds. No outdoors. Days were beginning to become straightforward since she opened up Mekaniks and Golams. There was an endless need for stocking and restocking. People came looking for something she didn't have. Sometimes they came buying all of one item. The money came in trickles. Some days she could sell a piece or two, other days there was just no one passing by. Jil considered getting a few gold mizas back for her wares as a good day. Judging by the ledger that she kept, Mekaniks and Golams wasn't about to go fold and close. Far from it. It just needed to pick customers up the business and roll the cash in.
That needed a lot of work, but she was set in her objectives. A Nuit convinced is a Nuit determined. Jilitse took every step necessary to keep herself aligned with the goal of making the shop succeed.
And it just happened that today was a lucky day!
The first step in tripping upon extremely good luck was to acknowledge the opportunity, no matter how unfortunate things appear to be at first. A positive outlook and light-hearted attitude preferable, but not required. The second is to accept the event and go through the motions, fighting either logic and emotion that would go against serendipity. The third is to take advantage of luck and fate. A small offering or prayer of thanks to the gods Ovek and Lhex would be greatly appreciated, though not obligatory.
This recipe was not for Nuits, of course, and Jil hated disruptions in her plans. Nonetheless, she would consider this stroke of luck a boon. Jil could follow the tempo of her new life with great adaptability, that much she could prove.
It was high noon when her customer of the day arrived, a comely woman plump due to childbirth. She had her curly brown hair held by a lacy cap, and she wore fine clothes, which said something about her purse. Age had shunned her beauty, and there was a matronly feel about her. Like a distraught mother, a pre-occupied wife. She arrived in front of Mekaniks and Golams like she had meant to visit, stopping and closing her toes in front of the door, and later peering at the shop's window. She appeared disinterested of the wares being sold, looking for something else.
Jil appeared from a dark corner, neck extending out of the shadows. She looked curious, the usual emotionless face bearing a semblance of greeting. The woman greeted her with a voiceless, "Are you open?" She nodded and let the visitor in.
The woman looked around the small space with interest, but never setting her eyes on any of the items on the shelves. "Greetings." Jil asked, "How may I be of help?" It occurred to the Nuit that the woman did not come alone, as there was a thin leather leash tied to a fashionable bangle. Jil traced the end of the delicate rope with her eyes- it was obviously not meant for restraining a pet - and met a young man. He was dressed in the same fashion as, Jil deduced, for they kind of looked like, his mother. There was something odd in his actions, he walked without swaying his arms, and hand his hands curled under his chin, as if mimicking an animal. He approached the woman timidly and bowed his head shyly. The boy was a full grown man with the disposition of a kid.
"We require your services," The woman added, "He has been looking forward to meeting you."
"I see." Jil would never put forward her skill in animation unless needed. 'I am gadgeteer' was her front unless the customer was interested in golems; 'I've been alive for 5 centuries as a mage in Sahova', was her proud heritage when customers wanted a guarantee on her shop's golems. Her shop sold more 'Mekaniks' than 'Golams', but those who wanted Golams paid more, much much more, than those who ordered gadgets. She need not think twice of her visitor's ability to pay for whatever request she had, but she had to be careful not to dampen the willingness. Ever politely, she asked, "May I get your names?"
"You may call me Missus Rhian, and this is my son Jojn." She said, "We are in the assumption that you can," she hesitated, "raise the dead." It was a sentence, not a question.
Ah, so this customer was straightforward. "That is partially true, Missus Rhian. I am able to animate corpses." She followed this fact with, "But in the sense of bringing back those who have joined Dira." A short pause, and a glance at her customer's face, "I apologize for I do not have the capability to do so."
Rhian raised a brow, nodding as if she had confirmed something important. "I thought so, too." She said, "But I just had to hear it straight from you. I heard this from a neighbor who heard it from a friend... It's a long story, you know how gossips, I mean, word of mouth, go." Her boy beamed a smile at Jil, and the woman noticed this. "It appears Jojn could attest to your honesty."
The man-boy pulled closer to his mother and whispered something inaudible. Rhian then told Jil, "I have seen your work. Both your regular items and the special ones." She added, "We wanted to hire your services."
There was small talk, more than Jil would have liked. Rhian overlooked not a small detail from the backstory, "We are aware that you're not an Alvad, Miss Jil." This hinted that whoever was the source of her referral was aware that Jilitse was from Sahova. And that her name was also passed around. Good, the shop would gain popularity if this continue. Jil only needed to live up to her customer's expectations, and if possible, exceed them.
"But maybe you've been around long enough to know what Alvadas is like." Jil confirmed this with a curt nod, and Rhian continued,"We've got at a problem at home. This has been going on since forever. My cook uses too much pepper whenever she would cook, and my poor boy here don't do well with pepper." Jojn stuck out his tongue in disgust.
"It would be nice if the pepper stayed in the food that my cook would cook, but the pepper is everywhere! Always everywhere, like dust!" She proceeded to complain arrogantly, "And Jojn here, as a kid he hated pepper, and he would bawl his guts out if he could at the scent of it." Jojn looked more and more distressed as Rhian continued her narration. Jil knew there was a hidden story in the tale, and she had to catch those inaudible hints, things that are revealed only by facial expressions and behavior. "I am a very disciplined woman, Jil." She waited for no accolade, "And I do not take kindly to boys who bawl their guts out like they were silly little girls." Jojn's lower lip trembled.
"I would do something about it. But my cook is the best I ever had, and her family's been serving my family for generations, if you get what I'm saying. I can't just throw her out." There was genuine exasperation in her voice. Jil could now put one and one together. If the missus did not take kindly to boys who cried, and she could not throw out her cook which means there was always pepper everywhere, which in turn meant that the boy always cried and misbehaved... then he must have been a, to put in kind words, well-disciplined boy.
"A well-disciplined boy Jojn must have been then." Jil commented, though she meant not that the boy did not misbehave, but that he was disciplined well by Rhian. Of course Missus Rhian did not catch the pun. And wouldn't have found it punny nor funny had she understood what Jilitse meant.
Rhian was stern-looking as she said, "Nothing pained my heart more than to see my boy suffer from pepper." She quickly switched to an affectionate tone, "I tried various means to remedy his allergy, but found none. I mean, eventually the bawling stopped but he never did grow up properly."
What manner of abused child would, Jil thought sarcastically. But Rhian was a customer, so she waited for the order to be placed.
