Hellp Wantd (Open)

[Liminal]

Summer, 509 AV

The main street of Sunberth was not a safe place. Indeed, simply calling it "dangerous" seemed sort of an understatement -- the residents disdained the very idea of laws, and if anyone saw a passer-by being robbed, they were far more likely to join in the robbery than offer any assistance.

It was the high heat of summer, and a thick haze clung to the ground. The air was full of pollen and dust, and it seemed to catch in the throat and resist going into the lungs. The only thing more abundant than shady characters seemed to be sweat, which was omnipresent.

In the midst of this scene, a man opened the door to one of the buildings crowded along the avenue. The rickety wooden structure was marked only with the word "SERVISSES," which was scrawled in black paint above a second-story window. Not exactly the most helpful wording, but then again, in Sunberth it was often best not to know too many specifics.

At any rate, the man looked once around him, and then tacked a sign to the door. The handwriting was so poor that it was almost illegible, but if one squinted hard enough, the words "HELLP WANTD" could be read. Apparently, spelling wasn't one of the available "servisses" at this establishment, but the meaning was clear enough...

[Akuaysun]

90th Day of Summer, 509 AV

Sunberth was only a stones throw from Sahova and a set of ramshackle ruins that had caught the man’s eye as he sailed by earlier in the season. It was a rickety set of sheds, ruined buildings and oddly enough a large smoldering pyre and tower of smoke. Curiosity was what had drawn Akuaysun to the place, a curiosity to see what the city was in these days of chaos and ruin. Already he had visited the cities of the dead, and dark god Rhysol, how could Sunberth be much worse.

In the countryside people spoke of them as barbarians and scourge, a place where violence and gambling ran rampant and unchecked. A place where a man could get anything he wanted… What more reason did a Myrian need, dice and supply, fools to be parted with their Mizas. With any luck he might be able to get down in the mines and have a look at what was in them. Some rumored there were items more precious then one could ever imagine there.

For now however at the crest of dawn when many still lined the streets passed out in their drunken haze an Ethaefal, in the shape of a Myrian warrior and his horse walked directly down the town’s main street. Aku hoped that his appearance as the barbaric tribesman would be enough to keep most away, but if not he wasn’t above making an example out of these survivors. In many ways he found their means of survival impressive when their only commonality was that they wanted nothing in common with the rest of these lands.

It made him smile, even laugh a bit as earth toned eyes of green and brown scanned the buildings that were still mostly whole. Even in the morning hours Syna was burning bright, her rays beating down on the exposed bronzed flesh of the warrior, his black hair shining in the light. Then as he passed a building a small sign caught his eye, in poorly wrote script of failed words a plea for help came.

Stepping up to the door, he gave it a solid set of thuds, sure that the thing would be locked in such a place at this hour. The pounding echoing down the dead streets of Sunberth, Akuaysun waited to see exactly what "SERVISSES," entailed.

[Liminal]

The door was indeed locked. However, at Akuaysun's knock, there was a noise inside, a telltale scrape of bolts being lifted, and then it swung open.

The man who opened it was in his late thirties, but time had not been his ally, and his face was world-weary and weatherbeaten. Gray eyes squinted out from beneath a deep brow. He was short, but stocky, and in his right hand was an angry-looking knife.

"Eh, who are you?" His speech was clipped and vaguely surly. "You here about the sign?" He pointed at the sign on the door, even though there was a distinct lack of other signs to confuse the issue. "I'm looking for some help." He said this with the sort of tone that indicated a possible doubt of Akuaysun's literacy skills.

"I gots a job. A dangerous job. You up for a dangerous job?" Again, this being Sunberth, most of the jobs were dangerous, and it didn't paint the man's feel for context in a particularly positive light to be pointing this out. But he did tilt his head and wait for an answer, so maybe that was something, anyway.

[Akuaysun]

The door came swinging open and the exposed dagger spoke to confirm exactly the kind of city this was. Akuaysun smiled, his eyes glinting mischievously as the stirred man pointed to the obvious and then further explained it. He was older, perhaps not by much, but weather beaten and rough without doubt. His tired grey eyes and wrinkled face spoke of a hard life that had never known better days, and after a quick glance back about the town, then to the dagger, and finally again to the man it was easy to say why.

However, something struck the newly reborn a bit ill. The man claimed the job was dangerous, now that in itself was something very interesting. To a woman of fine upbringing in the noble district of a city, dangerous could mean walking down a dark ally by the docks at night. To a man that answered a door with a blade and had a instinct to make quick work of guests, dangerous could mean playing catch with a spring loaded bear trap.

The Ethaefal had never been one to pass up a challenge however. Perhaps it was his Myrian blood, or perhaps he simply wanted to see how far he could push himself in this new world but Akuaysun’s heart began to thump at the prospect as his grin widened in anticipation. In a voice calm and even he responded to the flurry of inquiries.

“Aye, I am here to help if the Mizas are right and I know I can get the job done for you. I wouldn’t waste your time with false promises so why don’t you let me come in and we can talk business. My name is Akuaysun.” With that, the Myrian offered his open hand to shake the elder fellows. If he accepted, he would grasp the man by the forearm and give it one good shake, then release and follow the fellow inside after collecting his pack and lashing off his steed.

[Liminal]

The man thought about this for a moment, and then accepted the handshake. "Come on in," he said.

The interior of the building was dark, lit only by a smoking oil lamp. The windows were closed and barred from the inside. No one else seemed to be present. The man took a seat at an ancient pine table, and motioned for Akuaysun to take the other chair.

"I'm Klarsin," he said, pointing to himself. "And there's a bad bit of business going on that I need remedied. Man by the name of Red-Eyed Pete says I owe him ten thousand Mizas, coming from a business deal from years ago. Now I already paid him what's coming to him, and I haven't got that kind of money lying around. But he's bound and determined to take it anyway, and he says he's going to get it."

"Red-Eyed Pete, he's a dangerous man, and he's got...strange powers. Mysterious powers. I saw him kill a man in Lisnar once, just by looking at him with those eyes. I can't take him down, but I'm hoping to find someone who can. I haven't got ten thousand, but I've got eight hundred Mizas that I'll pay to the man or woman who takes care of this problem."

It was a high price indeed. The question was, did Akuaysun feel like taking on this particular task...

[Akuaysun]

Stepping into the building Akuaysun followed the man to the table, the heavy smoke of burning oil filling the room, weighing down the air. The area was boarded up and locked down. It was obvious before Klarsin even explained his situation that he was worried about something, and as his words spilled forth it was revealed. Upon hearing what was spoke a curious thought came to mind, what if he had been hired by Pete. This fellow was far too trusting and something seemed quite amiss with the whole situation. Pulling himself up to the edge of the table and lacing his fingers into one another Akuaysun looked Klarsin directly in the eye.

“I do believe I can help you Mr. Klarsin, but there will be a few things that need to be taken care of first and as I explain I am sure you will understand. First I need to see the Miza’s. If this is a matter of payment I do need to insure you have the coin you claim. Next I would like to know the details of this job that now has you in the position, and finally I need to be paid a portion up front. That we can discuss after the other details however…”

Akuaysun knew he was demanding a lot but it was a test, what the man did determined a bit more information about the situation, a bit more then he expected to learn from the actual explanation he asked for. Never taking his eyes from the man, he observed the reaction, and just before he chose to speak, Aku broke in one last time. “Once we figure all of the previously stated out, you can tell me all you know of Red Eye, where I can find him, and who his current associates are, along with what you know of them. I will need to know everything if I am expected to be successful.”

[Liminal]

Perhaps there was something strange going on, or perhaps the man assumed that if Pete had hired Akuaysun, he would already be dead. Though assumptions had a way of coming back to haunt one in Sunberth -- usually affixed to the wrong end of a knife.

Klarsin pulled a bag out from under the table and tossed it on top with a loud clunk. "Four hundred mizas there. That's standard for this kind of deal -- half up front, and half when the job's done." He seemed extremely nervous, although perhaps he had a good reason to be. "You can count 'em if you want, but they're all there." Closer inspection would bear this out.

"Red-Eyed Pete, he and I met up when we were both in prison in Zeltiva. He said he'd killed a man who knew where twenty thousand Mizas were buried, but that he'd been caught before he had the chance to retrieve them. It was down in Lisnar, and I owned a small boat that my brother was looking after while I was locked up. Since I had the boat, Pete said after we got out, we could sail it down to Lisnar, pick up the money, and split it fifty-fifty."

The man's face showed clear lines of sweat. "Anyway, we got out, picked up the boat, and took the trip to Lisnar. Pete said the money was down in this field. We went to get it, dug it up, and it was all there. But as we were taking it back to the boat, we were ambushed by some bandits. Pete took off down the shore, and I dropped the money and high-tailed it back to the boat."

"Long and short of it is, Pete's convinced I still have the money, and he wants his share. But I ain't got it -- it's all with those bandits in Lisnar, if they haven't spent it yet."

He coughed, a sound that seemed more like a nervous tic than anything else. "I'd suggest looking for him at Tall Johnny's. He's down there a lot. Knows Tall Johnny pretty well, but Johnny's a cagey fellow, and he won't pick sides if something bad goes down. I don't know who else Pete is with now. I try to keep away from him, you know?"

[Akuaysun]

Aku instantly flicked open the bag as it was tossed to him, taking a glance inside and then returned his un-flickering gaze to commissioner. Words poured forth eagerly as fingers absently played with the Mizas held within. Taking in each one he committed them to memory, looping the conversation through his mind as the fellow talked. He seemed oddly nervous about the whole matter, unnecessarily so. What was Klarsin hiding? His story simply didn’t add up. How was it that a man able to kill with looks would be thrown in jail and run from simple brigands.

“Quite the story you have there, it’s a shame I don’t believe a word of it.” Akuaysun smiled that wicked Myrian smile he was becoming so fond of, the kind of smile that made your skin crawl. Carefully he pushed the bag over and poured out its contents, going to work on stacking them in neat piles of ten. He did indeed intend to count the Mizas especially so now. “You see it simply doesn’t make sense to me. First how a man who could kill with looks would be so simply thrown into prison escapes me, and then why would he further stay there if he intended to kill again as soon as he got out. Then with that much money on the line why would he simply run. I believe you have neglected parts of this story and I would like to be told the truth. Personally I don’t care why you want him dead but I further do not enjoy being lied to.”

Plucking up on of the Miza he held it into the light, his green-gold eyes swirling about as he examined it. Pulling the dagger from his waist he scraped the edge against the gold as if expecting it to be a fake. Aku then continued counting, staking the golden stones into their neat piles and breaking them into clusters of fifty pieces. He hadn’t lied about his feelings on killing, it didn’t matter, death was simply a part of the cycle and these men seemed more then deserving of it. The true question was if there was deception afoot, or more coins to be made. Akuaysun was not particularly fond of killing, or tormenting innocents, but he did have a need to survive, and in this new world that took currency. If that took a death or two it was fine, they would be returned to the cycle and have another chance soon enough, likely growing up in a better world regardless.

Then there was also the matter at hand, if it became more trouble then it was worth, the Ethaefal had even less issues with slitting Klarsin’s throat, sacking his house and moving on. There was no law here, and Pete would surely be thankful for the saving of trouble. If he did indeed find the mass of coin in the halls then he would have very little issue leaving Pete’s share on the table with a fine little fleshy bow. That was more Miza then Aku could carry regardless. Turning his attention back to Klarsin when he completed the counting he smiled and sat without a word, if the coin was short it would be more then obvious before them, if not he would decide on a response after the man concluded whatever else he decided to speak of when presented with Aku’s mistrust.

[Liminal]

Whatever else Klarsin was being dishonest about, the number of coins was exactly what he had said: four hundred gold mizas, and to all appearances, genuine ones.

Klarsin had gone from nervous to deathly afraid. He was pale, and more beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead. The man gritted his teeth and gripped the edge of the table.

"All right," he said, his voice hoarse. "It wasn't Pete I was in jail with, but one of his buddies, fellow named Tommy -- I don't know his last name, or even if he had one. Tommy, he was a big, tough guy, but he wasn't...he didn't have the powers that Pete did. Anyway, I don't know if you've seen the prisons in Zeltiva, but I guess even Pete didn't want to risk springing him out of there. The University, they put some of their own people with the guards, and they've got reimancers, and worse than that too."

He swallowed. "And it wasn't him that knew about the money. It was me. I knew where the twenty thousand was, but I didn't know if I could dig it up and carry it away alone. So I told Tommy I'd split it with him if he'd help me once we got out. Neither of us was in for anything serious -- petty theft, I think, is what they'd pinned on both of us -- and so it wasn't too long before we was out again."

"After that, we took the boat to Lisnar, like I said, and got the money. We had it almost to the boat when the bandits attacked. They were using arrows, still a ways away. We ran as fast as we can, and I was lucky. Tommy, he wasn't so lucky. I got him on the boat, but he'd taken an arrow in the back. I don't have any healing training, and so I just watched him writhe there, dying in the bottom of the boat. I've never heard a man cry like that."

"Eight hours in, I couldn't take it anymore. I just couldn't. So I sped it up for him, one dagger strike, fast enough that he never felt it. He was a dying man, he was, and though I've seen a lot of men die, never all slow and horrible like that. I put him out of it, and I'd hope he'd have done the same for me."

He drummed his fingers erratically on the surface of the table. "So I had the money, and I got it back to Sunberth. But I had some...some gaming obligations left over from a while before, and since I wanted to live, I had to fulfill them. That took about fifteen thousand. So I had five thousand left, enough to be comfortable."

"But four, five years later, I heard Ol' Pete was asking about me. Said he understood I'd had a deal with his friend Tommy, and that Tommy had specifically left all of his property -- and money -- to him, Pete. So he wanted to talk to me about the money. 'Cept I ain't got the money, and I don't want to die like Tommy -- or like the other man I saw Pete kill. That part's true. It wasn't slow, but it was...painful."

[Akuaysun]

A firm hand gliding across the rough wood of the table’s surface pulled the mizas together into one larger lump whilst the other held his backpack open, as they were pushed into it. A jingling sound filled the room as Aku watched carefully to insure each of the tiny gold rings went to its new home securely. Pulling the draw string taught, tying a knot, and folding the flap back over once more, they were locked in their new leather home at Akuaysun’s side. He waited for a moment, getting to know the heft of the bag and then returned to his seat. “That one sounds a bit more believable, something that makes sense, details that are in line with one another. Thank you, but if you ever lie to me again I will insure that you have much more to worry about then Pete has ever offered.

Milling the words about in his mind, Aku’s eyes fell a shade colder. He had no hate for either of the men, but if it meant his survival then so be it. His right went back to the dagger left on the table top and slid it back into its sheath at his waist. “Tell me about Pete some more, what he looks like what weapon’s he favors, and where Tall Johnny’s is, what the building looks like so I can head that way. I don’t like to put things off if I can help it so we shall go about this business shortly if you don’t mind. If you do, I suggest offering up a damned fine reason.”

As Klarsin spoke, Aku went about arranging his things, not that they really needed arranging. He listened intently to what the fellow had to say, especially careful of his dialogue and body movements together, in case he decided he wanted to continue lying. From there, once satisfied of course, he would head on to Johnny’s place. With luck it wouldn’t be far and he could go about getting this messy affair out of the way. Pete would get a new chance at life soon enough if he were successful, and if not… well Aku would get to test his theories on what exactly happened when an Ethaefal died.