PM to join Hard Work, Good Stories [Nazim's Folly]

[Lumara]

12th Day of Summer Nazim's Folly, fifteen days east of Yahebah... The Well's water was mercifully cold on her tongue, but painful on such an empty stomach. She sat with Nazim in the shade under the awning. He on his mound of threadbare pillows, her on the carpeted floor next to him. He was generous with the well, but that was all she could expect from him. Food was plentiful in the Folly, but only the rich could hope to afford his niggardly prices. To eat she would have to work. Moving his wares from one small storehouse to another. It amazed her what he had locked away. From moth bitten cloth to fine silks and spices and everything else imaginable. He was a true packrat, but a very rich one indeed. "Hot." He muttered sullenly in Shiber. "Very." She said back with a smile. They knew little of each others languages. But somehow they had got along fine.

[Sewati]

Sewati shielded his jet black eyes from the unforgiving sun. His hunt had been fruitless so far, frustrating him to the point that he knew he would have to find some shade to cool down and regain his focus. He had been to Nazim's Folly only a few times before, his tribe rarely roaming this far from their territory. But the summer was a harsh time and the search for water and food could never end. He always found the surrounding mud-brick huts unnerving, almost ghostly and unnatural in their appearance. It made him grip his short bow tightly in his hand, but did not stop him from drinking a handful of muddy water from the cistern at their centre. Looking around hesitantly he could see Nazim under his awning, along with a woman dressed in a brightly coloured robe common to the Benshira. He almost decided to take rest in one of the lifeless mud huts, but that idea made him far more nervous than the company of strangers. So he made his way to the awning, stooping his large frame underneath and into the welcoming shade. He chose a spot on the carpeted floor that was the most distant from both of the other occupants and sat down. Unstringing his bow and placing it in his lap, he nodded to both, his eyes meeting there's for only a brief moment. 'Hello,' he greeted them in the common tongue, pronouncing the word awkwardly, but clearly.

[Lumara]

Her rest was broken by Nazim's angry bickering. He pointed off into the distance with his cane. Making the Konti look curiously for the focus of his attention. Even under the cloth awning she had to shield her eyes to see the figure approaching. By the graceful movements and fur pelts. She decided he must be one of the Desert Wildmen she heard so much about. She sat up straight and fumbled with her robes. Making sure every inch of her luminescent skin was covered in the sky blue cloth. Walking around cautiously he eventually found himself in the shade of Nazim's hut. He sat down gracefully and nodded out a greeting. "Hello." She said, a bit taken back my his accented Common. She was sure he would only know Shiber or any of the other Eyktolian languages. Lumara shifted uneasily as she realized the role she would now have to play. Nazim's impromptu translator. The Merchant seemed to pick up on this quickly and tapped the Konti with his cane. "Trade?" He said in his tongue, a tongue she hardly even knew. "My name is Lumara and this is The Honorable Merchant Nazim. He would like to know if you are interested in a trade? Few venture out here without this intention. But before that, do you have a thirst? We have water and tea for guests." Nazim might be curt but Lumara knew her courtesies well from years on the White Isles.

[Sewati]

The woman seemed to be hesitant in her reply to his greeting, making Sewati wonder if he had done or said something wrong. As his eyes adjusted from moving in to the shade from the bright sun, he could make her out a bit more clearly. Not that it helped, she was mostly a mystery to him and he found it hard to judge anything about her demeanour with just her eyes visible. All he could tell was there seemed to be something troubling her. A quick tap of Nazim's cane, followed by a word Sewati did not understand caused him to furrow his brow in confusion. The frown remained as he concentrated on the words being spoken to him. Even speaking Common, her accent did not seem to match the Benshira he had met in his time, but it was hard to tell with a language he was not comfortable using. 'Lumara,' Sewati repeated her name, to help fix it in his memory. He had no need for water as it would be a long time before he got thristy, but he worried about causing either of them offence. 'I am Sewati. I know Nazim's honour well and his tea would be welcome.' Being unused to people showing kindness to him, Sewati wanted to try and repay her courtesy by being friendly. Although he was unsure about a trade, having nothing of value, his hunt might still come in to fruition. His tribe would always require food, but maybe there would be something to exchange that could also benefit the Suli. Before Lumara could move or reply Sewati spoke once more, 'I am hunting,' he stated simply. 'If I get hide and meat you have something to trade?' He suddenly worried he should have waited for the tea before he continued with talk about any bartering and he shifted uneasily, just as Lumara had done only moments before.

[Lumara]

The tribesman responded with perfect etiquette. A fact that Lumara delighted in. Her first task at translation seemed to be going splendidly. Sewati accepted her offer of tea and was interested in trading his hunt. She relayed this information back to her temporary employer with slow broken words. Thankfully Nazim was patient with her and agreed the best he could. It took a moment for her mind to switch between both languages. Common wasn't even her first tongue so the going was slow. But she served the tea as she spoke and tried to appear as professional as she could. "Nazim is pleased to hear you wish to trade. He will pay good price for any hides you bring back. Depending on their condition of course." Nazim's words were too quick in parts, but she pieced together what she could and assumed what she dared. "And if your hunt is bountiful, we can sit down for a meal to honor our business together." Nazim repeated the word meal several times. But everything else was beyond her. She prayed to Laviku he meant to share a meal.

[Sewati]

Sewati nodded his head slowly in reply to Lumara as she talked. In between nods he sipped at his tea and enjoyed the pleasant taste as it danced across his tongue. He did not understand any of the words exchanged between Nazim and Lumara, although he was impressed by the way she was able to play host to him, maintain a conversation with Nazim and still be able to translate what was being said so he could understand. It showed the kind of social grace that Sewati had always lacked. 'I will hunt for the best hides and hope the spirits guide me to the finest animal,' Sewati said in his deep voice as he bowed his head slightly. Despite his warm welcoming, Sewati was anxious to find comfort in solitude once more and was eager to return to hunting. 'I thank Nazim for his hospitality and Lumara KasanatajRough translation: She who talks in many tongues. for her kind nature.' His momentary lapse in to his native language went unnoticed by Sewati, and he stood up, unaware of his slip, 'I hope I return soon with a bounty worthy of you both.' With his head stooped under the awning, he made his way back in to the harsh desert sun. He stretched the muscles in his arms and rolled his head from one side to the other, loosening up his neck. The scrubs that surrounded the Folly stretched like a patchy carpet for miles. Hidden amongst them would be small water holes and springs, so Sewati hoped he could pick up the tracks of an animal from one of those and start his hunt from there. After restringing his bow, he shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun and searched the horizon. He picked a spot in the distance and headed towards a patch of scrubs that looked the thickest.

[Lumara]

She bowed gracefully and watched as Sewati departed into the desert. She couldn't imagine anything worth hunting in such a wasteland. But she was confident he would find something. His kind were famous for living solely off the Burning Lands. "Good?" She asked. He nodded in reply. Lumara turned away to hide her smile. Nazim remained sitting on his mounds of cushions. Like the little Merchant King he seemed to be. Oblivious to her pleasure. Still playing the role of servant she took the tea pot and tray back into his home. Despite it's hovel like exterior, the inside was comfortably pleasant. The furniture was well worn and the floors were covered with tattered rugs. It was chaotic and disheveled. It looked lived in, and enjoyed. Nothing was in it's proper place. So unlike the pristine white manors of Mura. The smell of spices and dust filled the air. Nothing was in it's proper place. Her mother would hate it here. The thought made her smile.

[Sewati]

Sewati moved through the scrubs with soft steps, the webbing between his toes preventing his bare feet from sinking in to the coarse sand. There was a slight rasping every time his animal hide leggings brushed up against a a dry, parched scrub. Every rasp was one too many for Sewati and sounded deafening to him. Complete silence, that was the sign of a good hunter. There was no wind or breeze under the sweltering summer sun and the small freckles on his finger tips were only sensing the movement of his own body. The pastel green of the shrubs were tinted with slight hint of blue. Completely in contrast to the vibrant yellow sands of the surrounding desert. None of that compared to the pure, brilliant blue of the sky though. Sitting by himself looking at the horizon every morning and seeing the sky light up always made him smile. Then he felt movement at his fingertips. He flexed his fingers slightly and concentrated, trying his best to focus on what he was sensing. It felt like a series of small puffs of air, probably a small spring bubbling forth from the ground. He followed the the sensation of small disturbances it was causing in the air until he reached the source. It was a weak spring trickling from between a number of small rocks, surrounded by a mass of shrubbery. A small pool had formed between the rocks, where it was sheltered from the hostile Eyktol environment. No prey though, he would have to wait. So he moved some distance from the spring and crouched down low in the shrubs, removing an arrow from his quiver and bringing it together with his bow. Keeping perfectly still, not even moving his eyes, he watched and he waited.

[Lumara]

Nazim's barking brought her back from the White Isles and her mother to blessed reality. Far away from their oppression. "Working?" "Tea!" "Long time! "Coming!" "Work! Go! Work Work Work Work!" Lumara scurried out of the hovel to the nearest storehouse as Nazim showered her with curses. For several hours Lumara was elbow deep in wares that hadn't seen the light for years. Which confirmed her suspicious he was nothing but a collector. As before she was to dust, sweep and rearrange. As if it mattered. Every once in a while she would come across a piece of metal or glasswork. And stop to inspect it's craftsmanship and try to guess the origin. Her father had taught her the importance of observation. It was a poor smith that couldn't tell between a Vantha's and Inarta's work. She never asked why that was, it just seemed like good advice at the time. But Endin was always like that. Full of advice he never cared to explain or back up. But he always sounded so convincing that you'd never want to question him. No matter how silly the statement. She put the Syliran chestpiece back where she found it and continued working. Trying to forget Ravok and the homesickness that came with it.

[Sewati]

There was still no wind, just the smothering heat. It made the air thick and hard to breath, filling his nose and throat with a feeling of sharp heaviness. Sewati's muscles were beginning to become stiff from being crouched in one position for so long. But he was used to the uncomfortable, burning sensation this caused and the slight pain he had to endure. He continued to keep his eyes fixed to the small spring, not even moving to wipe the sweat from his brow, when the flight of a bee caught the attention. Its meandering path seemed almost indolent, buzzing gently as it landed on Sewati's arm. The yellow of the bee's stripped body was in contrast to the bronzed reddish tint of his arm as it took a few steps before settling to a standstill. Sewati seemed stuck in a tableau as he watched the bee, it small body heaving up and down in small movements. Then it took flight once more and continued on its convoluted journey. As Sewati watched it go, he heard a small rustle nearby. Then there was a slight sensation against the freckles on his fingertips. There was something coming, although he could not see it yet. He increased his grip on the bow and let the arrow slide very slightly in his fingers. But he did not move yet, he just stayed crouched, ready and waiting.