Completed A Familiar Face

[Inoadar]

40th of Winter, 513

Inoadar had wondered if this might be a problem. Those punks and delinquents that were scared to mess with HIM were not afraid of his new trainee, Vera. It may have just been bad luck, or the shoplifters may have reasoned it out themselves, that with a little girl in the shop for extended periods, he would not have his usual number of poisoned vials as part of the lobby display.

He was well known to do this, specifically to discourage shoplifters. More than one sticky-fingered thief had been found writhing in agony down the street, or worse. There was ample warning of this policy in the forms of placards and banners on his walls. "Do Not Touch Vials, Poison Hazard!", or "Shop Employees ONLY to Touch Displayed Products", or "Display ONLY, Leaking Hazard!". And while these discouraged most everyone, there were always those that thought themselves clever enough to protect themselves.

Thus far, Inoadar had not really troubled himself over the occasional street tough that got away with it. It was a loss he could easily afford and there were enough that paid the price for their daring that it did not escalate into a true financial hardship. But this time he returned to his shop to find a huge number of vials gone, and Vera in tears on the floor.

It was hard to even understand the words of her wailed apology. He looked at her without sympathy, but also without blame. He knew that she was of no value as an intimidation factor. He was teaching her poison crafting because she had shown an amazing aptitude for gleaning properties from herbs. He felt that to be a standard starting point, herbal toxins. He himself had started with aquatic, but herbs, roots and vines had immediately followed. And it was not that they were more or less complex, just different.

"Stop it, Vera. Stop it now." he ordered her, his voice neutral. "Is this how we accept the tests of Rhysol? By bawling all over the floor?" He stood in place and waited for her to begin calming herself before continuing. "I would not expect you to be able to stop determined thieves from doing this, but I DO expect you to stay focused. Can you tell me what any of them looked like? Any symbols on their clothes? The TYPES of clothes, hair colors? Were any of them women? THIS is where you have failed, not in the fact that you could not stop grown men from taking these things with me gone."

Her crying began anew with the realization that he was right. But this time she shook her head and made some growling noises as she forced her tears back. Her voice shook only slightly as she faced him without flinching. "I'm sorry, Master Nolan. You're right. I ought not to have thought I could stop them. But they laughed at me." her voice cracked a little at this last statement.

Inoadar sat down and motioned her to come sit by him. "If being laughed at is such a big deal, then I should laugh at you more often to get you used to it. Recognize it as a weakness and work on it, Vera. Grow stronger with it. This is only your fault in the sense that I have had to protect you from the hazards of the toxins we work with by NOT implementing my usual anti-theft policies. AND the fact that you lost your own sense and fell about blubbering when you should have made any notes on what these men looked like."

He stood up, nodding his head with a decision. "It is time I took the next step. This is my own fault for placing so much on your shoulders. You are a gifted crafter, Vera, but you are not ready to run the shop alone. Even for half days. That takes a different kind of gift. People will watch, and now they know I am not leaving coated vials among the display products. They will strike when I am gone."

Vera looked crestfallen, as though she realized that she was a liability. He looked sidelong at her and smiled. "I had thought about locking the doors when I'm gone. You could still do the jobs I assign you, but I can't keep that up for long. I have more than one side line I am pursuing and may be gone frequently." He ruffled her hair, a gesture she was becoming fond of. "No, this is nothing more than a sign that it is time to keep a promise I made some time ago. I owe it to man to do the same thing for him that your Aunt Vanari did for you. It is time for me to get Burke Trovias out of slavery."

[Inoadar]

The next morning, Inoadar announced that they were going to the slave market. Vera's reaction clearly displayed her loathing and fear of the place, where most of her life's course had been decided. Inoadar again, displayed no sympathy, saying that she was a probationary citizen now and was above such worries. She took a deep breath and boldly stated that she was worried that she would feel sorry for the people there.

Inoadar gave her a positively assessing look. "It's good that confess this to me, child. You need to get over this." He patted a chair beside the one he now sat in, motioning her over. She sat down and looked up, knowing another lesson was coming. "You feel that, like you, they do not deserve this treatment. That having been a slave yourself, they have as much right to the freedom you've received as you do, correct?" She paused a moment, and nodded.

He smiled, but his look was still stern. "This is understandable, but there are a number of reasons why this is not so. Now I am no priest, but I can give you some account of what they would say. First, as a general rule, it is not for us to question Rhysol's will. There is some reason why he wishes them to continue as slaves and you not to. That alone is enough, but I will tell you something else. You did NOT, in fact, DO anything to deserve your freedom. Your Aunt Vanari took you from that fat vendor before I knew of any talent you had for toxin crafting. I had no idea I would end up taking you as apprentice."

She looked shocked, and none to happy about it, but Inoadar did not pause. "This alone is evidence of Rhysol's intervention on your behalf. The inspiration to release you came from somewhere, but neither of us knew you or had any reason to help you. Yet Vanari suddenly is prompted to up and buy you out. So clearly you were chosen to be free. These others at the slave market are not, for whatever reason not, I don't know. Perhaps their enslavement is due to active hostility toward His worship, in which case He is merciful to ONLY enslave them."

She seemed to have never considered this before. Inoadar paused a moment, then went on. "Plus which, not all slaves are treated cruelly. Even the way that ugly old bastard treated you is not the worst I've heard of by any means. And many are treated far kinder, more as servants than slaves. What you received was exactly what our Lord decided was sufficient to strengthen you against suffering, but not break your spirit. You will be strong now. Do not let misplaced compassion for those whom the gods deem unworthy, or unfit, for freedom weaken you."

She seemed more content now but there was still some uncertainty. Inoadar leaned close. "One other thing to consider. You know, don't you, that we all live many lives over the years, right? That after we live one life, our spirits are reborn at the gods' pleasure to life a second life? And third, and fourth, and so on and on..." She looked at him in wonder, shaking her head 'no' slowly, like an afterthought. Apparently no one had told her this.

She was fascinated now, and Inoadar's own conviction of this belief was all the more persuasive. "We are born into different situations each time, maybe even different races, this I don't know. But what I DO know is that what you are born into next depends largely on how you conduct yourself now. So, you see, there is never any real reason to feel sorry for anyone. They are getting what they deserve, carried over from their last life. When someone buys a poison from us and uses it on someone, it is the result of unfinished vengeance from their last lives."

She was astounded, and began to show a far more cheerful look, but she suddenly looked somewhat hurt. Inoadar stifled a grin. "Ahh, you are thinking then that this means you deserved your slavery. Well, yes, you probably did. But now, whatever you did in your last life, to deserve such punishment in this life, is obviously all paid up." he leaned in close, conspiratorially, "And I bet that fat old merchant that owned you will die and be reborn as a fish, and we'll catch him and gut him!"

They both laughed with sincere joy. "And now, because those thieves have made it necessary, I am going to go free Burke Trovias. So even those thieves were doing what Rhysol willed. This is not to say that if I had caught them I would not have punished them severely. No indeed. If I had caught them, it would have been because they deserved to be caught! it is all interconnected." He slapped his knees and stood, "And now it is time for Burke's punishment to end, and ultimately, those thieves' actions were the sign. So shall we go?"

Vera stood up smiling broadly, feeling entirely free of her apprehension. "Yes, Master Nolan. And thank you for telling me all this."

Inoadar smiled back. "Well, you can hardly be blamed for not knowing something if no one tells you."

[Inoadar]

They could have reached the Slave Market easily enough by walking a few "blocks" by way of bridges and walkways, but Inoadar thought it likely that Verennia, or "Vera", as she preferred, had not enjoyed a pleasant trip on a 'ravosala', one of the boats that plied that canals as a major form of transportation in this floating city.

She'd probably ridden on one with her old master, but it had probably been in a spirit of cowering anxiety over wanting to avoid the fat old bastard's notice. Inoadar supposed there would be many that would be surprised to see him refraining from employing a similar "beat them into submission" philosophy where this girl was concerned. He was a little surprised to recognize this soft spot he had for the girl, but when Vanari had freed her, he had been impressed by the child's mature assessment of her situation. She didn't go bounding around like an idiot shouting "I'M FREE, I'M FREE!" Instead, she weighed her options and made herself useful, with only a slight modification of her attentive and deferential attitude.

Then, when her usefulness and natural aptitude with the materials in Inoadar's lab prompted him to take her on as an apprentice, she once again displayed an attitude of buckling down and making good on an opportunity. In short, she was a gem, and he was not about to disrupt this mental acuity by reintroducing pointless intolerance. He had nothing to prove to himself. And everything she did showed that she also accepted that he was the master and she the learner. No attitude needed adjusting.

There was a bit of childish exuberance that occasionally wore on his patience. But there was also a curious pleasure he derived from her gratitude. Right now, she was trailing her hand in the water, flipping splashes out into the canal and laughing, looking around as if she'd never seen the city before. Inoadar shook his head in a playful sort of exasperation and looked toward the boatman, as if to apologize for her antics, only to find the man smiling and looking on with a subtle approval.

The two men took turns of sorts answering her questions about the various buildings they passed, and their purposes and histories. It suddenly occurred to Inoadar that this ride had taken longer and followed a more circuitous route than normal. He rolled his eyes as Vera hopped up on the platform, thanking the boatman for the ride. Inoadar was about to comment that the man was only doing his job, when it struck him that it would sound strangely sullen and spiteful to do so.

He shrugged it off and told her to take his hand as they made their way to the Slave Market. It was not so crowded as he had sometimes seen it. More than the average number of slaves had been purchased last season and what new stock had come in had been picked through to a large degree already. Vera looked pained at the condition of some of them. But when Inoadar tested her for any excessive compassion, she looked up at him in genuine surprise.

Then she understood. "Nooo, Uncle Nolan, I don't feel sorry for them, I just don't think they look like they're going to be any good for anything. And they stink." She covered her nose. "I hope none of them are Burke."

So did he, but a quick look confirmed that his man was not among these samples. he approached the Slavemaster and asked about the stock not currently on display and the armored brute gave a gruff response that the "...general parade is not for another two bells, unless these shyke-eating dogs get bought up quick."

Inoadar made a gesture and quickly added, "Don't look at me. I'm here for one specific slave I saw at the raid on that brothel last Fall. He's a man that used to work for me. He was picked up for suspicious activities several seasons ago, but it was apparently proven wrong because a Black Sun representative told me I could come and get him back any time I wanted now."

[Inoadar]

He gave the Slavemaster the name "Burke Trovias" and mentioned the shop "Ino Vations" where he had been arrested, and the man told him to wait while he checked the records. He left to do so and Inoadar and Vera spent several chimes watching the auction atmosphere of the Slave Market. Inoadar warned her to make no gestures during bidding, or she might end up having to buy one of these crusty petchers, and that she would have to pay him back with interest.

The Slave Master came back, leading a man on a leash and chain. The slave and Inoadar made eye contact and the slave heaved a sigh of relief. "I was hoping I might see you again...sir." Burke said, with a slight pause where he almost spoke the name "Inoadar", but caught himself. Inoadar noticed the near slip and gave him a look of combined warning and approval.

Burke was dressed in basic linens, but he was at least clean. There were a number of bruises, but they all looked old. There were no new signs of punishment. "This'n seems to have finally been "broken in". Ain't been causing us no trouble for the last season. I think he just may have learnt to mind his place, eh?" The Slave Master growled, pulling Burke up to an intimidating face-to-face. "See that you keep it up, Puke." He turned to Inoadar and Vera. "Tha's what we named him. Fer tha's how he smelt 'til just a wee bit ago." He roared with coarse laughter. His own breath would have earned himself the name "Grave Spittle".

Inoadar was delighted to see that Vera neither laughed nor cringed in the face of the man's behavior and stench. She, like Inoadar himself, was all business. The Slave master stood waiting, holding Burke's chain as moments passed. The pause grew uncomfortable. "Is there something to sign?" Inoadar asked, making an effort to hide his growing impatience.

The Slave Master looked amused. "...'s naught to sign, sir, but there's a little matter of payin' for the bugger." he rattled the chain he still held with one hand, extending the other, palm up.

"But they said he was not determined to be guilty of anything." Inoadar protested cautiously, "They said I could pick him up any time."

"Aye. And you can. But it's still gonna be standard charge, sir. We don't make it our business t'whether he's guilty or no, we just pick up the tab. Ya can think of it as a holding fee if'n ya prefer." He grinned, but there was no humor in it. Nor was their any compromise in the hand awaiting payment.

For his part, Burke made no complaint or gave any pleading expression, but simply stood waiting. Inoadar went through the motions of rifling through his belt pouch. "I've only got two seventy-five. Will that do?" he said, tossing the pouch onto the table between them. The Slave Master snatched it up and began assessing its contents. A strange puzzlement crossed his features. "I hope I counted right, I wouldn't want to see anyone not receive payment they've earned." Inoadar continued blandly.

The Slave master stammered briefly, closing up the pouch and taking a quick look around. "Uhh...well sure, I guess it don't hurt to give a man a break now an' then." He reached out and they shook hands and he pulled a key and unlocked the throat manacle, releasing Burke into Inoadar's custody.

As they returned to 'Ino Vations', Vera piped in. "Master Nolan, you knew it was going to be three hundred. What was all that about two seventy-five?"

Burke answered, as a way of letting Inoadar know that he had picked up on what name he was supposed to call him now. "Master Nolan knew that the Slave Master would pocket the rest as a bonus for himself. He now has the gratitude of the man, and its always good in this town for people to owe you favors. He'll spread the blame for the apparent loss of twenty five mizas among his underlings. No one will be the wiser."

[Inoadar]

Inoadar spent a bell or two reacquainting Burke with the layout of the shop. Informing him of the new products on the shelves and detailing the precautions he would need to take while handling them. Burke was already familiar with the variations between inhalation and contact risks, as well as ingestion and injury types, but he still needed to note which were which. Vera promised to help him and he grinned with good-natured condescension.

Inoadar advised him with surprising seriousness NOT to discount the child's skill, and to demonstrate, he set her to cracking some root husks and distilling the wrung squeezings from the inner pulp to make "Blue Whinnis". Burke watched with growing appreciation, both he and Inoadar only occasionally making comments to maximize safety and yield.

Vera winced with each correction, but ultimately beamed with pride when Burke stood in impressed silence, nodding his head. "Vayt's Teeth, girl! You're a natural! I hadn't gotten that far in twice this time." he got a puzzled look and turned back to Inoadar, "If I may ask, sir...uhh...what do you need me for? I mean she's already better than me."

"We had a break-in, and Vera was obviously not a terribly intimidating deterrent." He turned to see if Vera was going to be looking gloomy about this unfortunate reality, but was pleased to see that she appeared unaffected by the remark. Nonetheless, he continued on her behalf, "I had not been placing my usual traps for shoplifters out here, worrying about Vera poisoning herself. I guess rumors of it got out and these men decided to exploit it."

Burke nodded his understanding, then ventured, "Rumors still reach us at the Market, but maybe I didn't hear them right. I had heard you got some bad-ass tiger Kelvic to be your bodyguard. Didn't that work out? Couldn't she handle a few thugs?"

The poisoner got a frustrated look. "That's a longer story than it should have been. She'd been coming in pretty sporadically lately. At first I thought it would be okay, since it would a be a tough schedule for my adversaries to track. But I soon noticed that it was only which days that was the irregular feature, NOT which bells OF the day. I can only assume my enemies took note of it as well."

Burke scowled, "Well that's no petching excuse!" Then he winced, giving a sidelong look at Vera as he curtailed his un-slave-like outburst. "Sorry, Master Nolan, it is not my place to question your policies or decisions."

Inoadar waved it off. "No, indeed, it was not, and I docked her pay for her irregular attendance. I also intend to take the loss of goods out of her pay! But I don't think it's going to make much difference. I had given her the key to her own collar, to reinforce her loyalty. And I don't question this loyalty. She has twice saved my life, so I can't really punish her, especially when you consider that she was never really my slave." Inoadar held up his hand as Burke's surprise shaped to become a question.

"One of those two times was right here in town, and as an unregistered Kelvic, attacking a slaver crew, she was going to be killed. So I spoke up on her behalf and cited her slave/bodyguard status, claiming some mitigating circumstances as to why she was not marked. I pulled in a few favors, told a few lies, and got her branded and registered. It was to save her life. She and I are pretty much even now, so I told her she owes me nothing now and can leave if she wants. Her slave brand will actually help her now if slavers grab her in the wild."

Burke nodded his understanding. An official brand of Ravokian slave status was not to be taken lightly. She would be returned to Inoadar if captured in the wild, not taken to some distant place, beyond his help. But then his look became calculating. "So let me get this straight...She was your slave...officially registered slave...but you were still paying her? And now I'M your officially registered slave, and you're NOT going to be paying HER anymore,?"

Inoadar kept his face straight, adopting a mock confused expression. "I'm sorry, Burke...Are you leading up to something?"

[Inoadar]

Burke looked over at Vera, busy with her beakers and burners, and leaned in close. "Well, yes, I was wondering if I'm going to be paid to be your shopkeeper. I don't know if you are paying this youngster here, but she is clearly receiving training, whereas I will be doing work I am already trained for. You know I am fully capable of manning the shop in your absence."

Inoadar nodded with a grin. "And that is exactly what I want you here for." He charted Vera's progress and took the first opportunity to have her pause in her work to step over and listen. "Okay, both of you, understand the situation here. Burke, Vera is a citizen, so legally she can order you around without limit. Vera, Burke is my original assistant and I trust his judgment as far as the day to day running of the shop. I do not want you giving him orders. If there is some special case, I will expect to be given an explanation after the fact. And it had better be good. You may be a citizen and he a slave, but he is MY slave, not yours."

Burke had noticeably winced at the term 'slave' as Inoadar spoke, and he addressed this now. "Vera, as you can see, is quite gifted at this, so as far as the LAB work goes, I DO expect you to defer to HER judgment. Again, explanations of extraordinary circumstances will be expected." He put his arm around Burke's shoulders. "I know it must rub you wrong that I do not speak of any intent to acquire your citizenship any time soon. We both know that arrest was a trumped-up manipulation of facts, but it's still on your record, and for appearance's sake, I need to wait awhile before going against the grain of social standing."

Burke nodded calmly. "I understand sir, I just hope you will indulge some patience for how difficult it may be for me to settle into that role in an environment where I am used to such a different one." He looked over at Vera. "And I will endeavor to bestow the same deference upon the young mistress as well." he gave a smiling bow, which Vera answered with a giggle about being called 'young mistress'.

Now was the time for the business proposal, and the deal to get Vera out of his place at Tarsin's. "I will pay you 4 mizas a day. That should equate to three hundred sixty four per season. Now since the season is half passed, and since I'm going to have to make an initial payment on an NHC unit for you to share with Vera, I'm only giving you two hundred for the rest of the season. You will pay for your own rent from the full three sixty four I will paying you after this. A decent medium sized unit will cost one eighty, so you're actually making twenty more this season. I was not about to pack you both into a small unit."

Vera started to protest, her dismay genuine and compelling. But Inoadar would hear none of it. Asking her if she didn't really think her master deserved a place of his own. Hadn't he earned his privacy? Wasn't she indebted enough to grant him this concession without a bunch of sniveling? He gave her a hug and told her that it gave him pleasure to see what it meant to her, but he had reasons why it was important to him, and it would also give him pleasure to see her obey.

"You'll get along with Burke just fine, and this way neither of you will have an excuse to be late to work." he winked. In truth, he hoped that Burke would be able to slowly fill in her knowledge of her master, and give her a better idea of the world she was entering, without the hindrance of hero-worship. For all he knew, the two of them would fall in love when she got older. There was only eight or ten years' difference. A perfect match.

[Vanari]

Ino

Teaching	+2 XP
Rhetoric	+3 XP
Negotiation	+2 XP
Philosophy	+2 XP
Intimidation	+1 XP
Planning	+1 XP
Leadership	+2 XP

Lores :

• A Decision to Free Burke
• Teaching Vera Rhysol's Will
• Childish Joy Can be Tolerated
• Burke: Welcome Back
• Assigning Duties To Burke and Vera
• Burke and Vera: Sharing a Unit
• Burke and Vera: The Perfect Match

Loot :

-$$ for freeing Burke, wages, & NHC unit

Notes :

*clutches face* nooooo my little Vera...don't grow up too fast and fenangle with Burke

Please don't hesitate to PM me with questions, comments, or concerns! Also, remember to either delete your grade request or edit it as "graded."

Cheers