[Knirin Grdns]A Fish, a Giant, and some Dead People[Liandra]

by **Rykanis Dakshata** on July 8th, 2012, 2:58 am

20 Summer 512

One of Rykanis favorite places to hang out, were at Knirin Gardens. Often he came here to relax in some shade, from a few trees, to look at the scenery, to bask in the falls.

The falls. He wondered how many people had died, in going over those falls. From their height, the fall alone would kill you, even if you could swim, or breath underwater. And this place seemed so calm and placid. A small lake forming at the park, which just out of sight, returned to the waterfall, and was immanent death. A nice placid lake, seeming so calm, with death so near. In the same body of water. One reason few people were fool enough to swim in its waters.

Usually, Rykanis came here to talk to a certain shadow friend of his. But today, he had decided to rest near the lakeshore, to enjoy its beautiful view.

It was a good time of the day to be out. Later than afternoon, so the sun was not at its hottest. But not quite sundown, when Rykanis got busy, and things picked up. But in a bell or so, sundown would begin. Till then, he could chill, and kill some time.

by **Liandra** on July 9th, 2012, 5:31 am

Liandra was down at the docks, talking to one of the fisherman. She had heard that they had hauled in a dolphin with the day's and she wanted to see if she could buy some of the parts of it before they finished butchering it. She got there as they had it strung up, a blade piercing at its anus, then sawing downward to just beneath the skull. Liandra watched intently as the dark green man went about his business, "Hello!" the man looked up at her and smiled, "Why hello there, you work over there with Nessela right?" Liandra nodded as he continued, "What can I help you with today?"

"Well, I heard about your impressive catch today, and I wanted to come and see. We had many of these back in Charbosi. That one's a male, though this one seems to be of a different breed than I'm used to."

"How can you tell the gender so easily? We were just arguing about that."

She pointed at the two slits up at the top of the cut, "Two means male, three means female. Are you familiar with these around here? I'd like to learn more about it."

"Well these always like to swim along, or in front of the ship, and are usually in groups of five or more. They make these loud whistles and squeaks with each other. I've heard they like to eat squids too. So was there something else you needed?"

She watched him begin removing the organs and setting them aside, "I would like to purchase the skull from you, I can give you a fair price. Would five golden mizas do?"

"I dunno... I thought about bringing it home for my daughter..."

Liandra saw his eyes look down and away, before he quickly went back to his butchering. She smiled. Life had been hard since the Djed Storm, and some businesses were affected more than others. Nessela had told her that theirs would increase with all the unexpected deaths, and Liandra figured she could afford to help him out if he was struggling enough to lie. "Tell you what, I'll pay fifteen golds for it, if you come by the shop sometime and get a protective trinket for your daughter. How's that sound?"

The man shied for a moment, thinking she'd found him out, which she had. "I'm sorry, I don't really have a daughter, or any children yet. Five golds is more than enough."

"Nonsense. Fifteen golds, and you come buy a trinket for when you do get a child. That is the only deal I will accept."

She dug into her coinpurse and produced the fifteen coins. The man smiled and took them. Liandra didn't do it just for his benefit though. She wanted High Spirits to have a good reputation amongst the city. Ghosts and talismans tended to rub some people in the wrong way, and she was determined to change that. She sat down and watched his knife get to work, carving chunks of meat from the bone, and soon the dolphin left with just cartilage and bone. He disconnected the skull, pulled off odd ends and bits of meat, cartilage, and the like, and handed it over. "Thanks! May Laviku bless your fishing trips."

She turned to leave and about bumped into Nessela, who was smiling up at her. "Go buy a sack for that, you have work to do. A friend of mine says his wife, Dira bless her soul, is in Knirin Gardens. She's been there for some years now, peacefully living amongst the waters. However, as of late, she's been harassing visitors as of lately. Nothing dangerous or anything, but stealing items of value or personal importance and tossing them into the watery depths. She's been disturbing couples looking for private getaways, scaring children and the like. Anyways, go there and talk to her, see what's changed with her. And if she can't be consoled, try and see if she'll be relocated. She's a good spirit, so please handle her with the utmost care."

Liandra nodded, and said her goodbyes and began making her way to Knirin Gardens. It was a beautiful and picturesque area, but there was a problem. A size problem. The park was huge! There was a lot of grown, and water, that to search for a spirit, who may not want to be found. She needed a way to lure her out. She saw a dark violet man sitting by the shore, and an idea popped into her head. The ghost wanted couples? She'd give her couples. She swung the sack over her shoulder, and strode over to him. She plopped down right next to him. She didn't even look over at him, "So, come here often? I'm Liandra by the way. And I'm here so you don't get killed. Not by me, don't worry. But you need to act like we are together for it to work. So don't say anything until you kiss me. Seriously, this is dangerous." A bit over the top perhaps, but she wanted him to know she wasn't joking, or lying.

Purchases :

by **Rykanis Dakshata** on July 10th, 2012, 12:38 am

Really, could Rykanis ever be left alone for long? It seemed the fact that he was trying to relax, and unwind, made the world insist on him being interrupted. And this interruption was a bit odd. Really, someone up in God land must enjoy messing with him, and keeping him on his toes.

As a person came plopping down to sit next to him, he gave a glance, wondering whom it could be. Normally random strangers in his experience, did not do that. At least not that he knew of. Which meant it seemed more likely that he knew her...

The moment he saw the person... Was it a person? Well he knew they had never met. He was good with faces, and remembering people, and he was sure he would remember this person. Was it a woman? He had an inkling it was, but could not be completely certain.

Rykanis used every bit of his will, and his tenacity as a spy, to keep from letting his surprise show on his face. She was blue... Blue! And she certainly was not an Akalak, as she was a woman... Plus she was to small to be one... And well... The tentacles... He was not even sure were to begin there.

His mind was already spinning off scenarios, explanations for what was going on... Each more unlikely than the last... He could not figure this one out, which meant he would have to learn it from her.

Rykanis smiled at the woman, and moved over to hold hands, a bit of surprise when he first touched, possibly showing in his face, though since the woman was not looking at his face... Rykanis kept on looking ahead, going along with what she said, wondering about the fact that her skin was all wrong... This odd smooth and rubbery feel... Couples did hold hands though, so perhaps that would be enough to satisfy her for the moment.

"Yes, I do come here often. And don't be in such a rush. I don't go around kissing anyone, until at least 10 chimes into the date."

Saying that, jokingly, a bigger grin came across his face.

"I am Rykanis. An Akalak, as you surely know. So what should I know of you, this person I am apparently on a date with?"