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50th of Spring, 517AV
A audible slam boomed trough the comfy room that served as the shop of what was known as the "Ethereal Notions". With his hands pressed firmly against the hardwood counter, the Eiyon Grim adorned a bright smile, one befitting an individual who was eager to prove himself at his new, and at the same time first job. He expected that finding employment in Syliras would be rather hard, especially for someone like him, who had just recently moved in, and had little to no knowledge of the city and it's workings. Yet, he had memorized the way from his apartment to the shop, and, at least for now, that was all he needed.
Even before he got accepted at his post, he had began liking the place. It would seem that the building itself lured him inside, as if an ethereal force beckoned him to enter trough the entrance. And no, it wasn't some sort of hunch he felt, or just that he liked how it looked, no. If he had to guess, Grim would say that it had something to do with his powers. Slowly, he was growing accustomed to how they worked. Death was abundant even in what was the safest city in the region. And even though it was far less than Sunberth, that feeling, although not unpleasant, was still ever present. It changed his life. From the moment the gioddess kissed his hand, and even now it continued to influence his life.
And so, it brought him to this place, to the shop that provided spiritist gear. It would seem much more like an ordinary living room than anything else resembling a shop, if not for the tall shelves stacked with various powders, trinkets, and other things he couldn't quite yet describe, or know the purpose for. To be honest, his two employers gave him very little info to work with. Apart from a list of prices for every item or service, they said little more. Apparently, they wanted to see if he could even "handle" a day working at the notions, whatever that meant, and later, if he shows himself capable of overcoming whatever he was supposed to face, they would take him as an official worker.
Yet, even with this odd warning, if you could call it that, Grim was rather confident that he could take on whatever the day had in store for him. From what he knew, apart from the occasional spiritist or mage, the shop is frequented by ghosts and other types of customers one wouldn't expect to wander in anywhere else. Bah, what were ghosts for someone like him? To be honest, it was not fear or skepticism he felt when he thought about meeting and interacting with one. He was rather excited about it, as he was when he met one of his employers, Duncan. If there was one work he could use to describe him impression about him, it was pure amazement. Even though Grim thought about persuading him to rejoin the circle of life and death, he dared not mention it. Well, at least not yet...
He ran his pale finger across the rough surface of the yellowed out paper, going under the name of every item, attempting to memorize each of them. He needed to be prepared for when the customers would appear.
A while later...
Yet, it appeared that nobody was in need of any services regarding spiritism. With each minute of the three hours the clerk spent behind the desk, or sitting at the couch, he grew more impatient. Sure, in a city like Syliras, one couldn't expect their goods to be in high demand, but to have nobody enter yet, was nothing short of causing frustration in the usually calm man. His fingers would drum against the counter underneath his palm, the rhythm of their beating matching the twitches of his left eye.
"Dira help me, if someone doesn't enter trough this door right now..." Grim would begin in a hushed yet sharp tone, only for the end of his short prayer to remain stuck at his throat, interrupted by the high pitched chime of a bell, one that hung from a nook located above the entrance. That sound could mean only two things. Whisper and Duncan were back, ready to shame him for not performing up to their expectations, or...
"A customer...?" He would ask nobody in particular, the last flicker of frustration leaving his face as a hunched visage of a man, adorning a brown traveling cloak came into view. The man sported a crude walking stick, one on which he supported his whole body weight. Apparently not in any particular hurry, it took more than a while for him to close the door he had opened to enter. Grim would stand in silence, watching as the man turned his back to him, only to push the door forward, until it closed, ringing the bell as it did. The supposed customer let out a breath he held, as if the task he had just preformed required of him to strain his physique to it's limits.
"Can I help you?" Grim would ask, his voice cautious, every word stretched out.
The man turned around, as if he was surprised to actually find someone standing in Grim's stead. Though he wore a hood that cast a shadow on the larger part of his face, the Eiyon could see very thin hair on his wrinkled chin, gray from old age.
"Can I..." The clerk attempted to ask again, in a slightly raised tone, only to be cut off by the old man.
"I heard you the first time boy, I can help myself." The man snarled back at him, causing Grim to flinch at the sudden outburst.
With his pale lips forming a displeased line, the old man moved closer to the counter, raising his head only so that one of his black eyes would meet with Grim's. Clearing his throat, he asked. "Who are you supposed to be?"
Recovered from the sharp retortion, Grim puffed up his chest in pride before replying. "I am the new worker!"
"Worker, eh?" He asked, although it seemed that the wanted to spit something from out his mouth. "Yes, little Whisper always goes on about how the Notions are taking quite a chunk of her time..." The old man added as his gaze shifted from Grim to some of the items shelved behind him.
"Speaking of, where are the two lovebirds?" He asked as his eye locked again with Grime's.
"Duncan and she went out a couple of hours ago, didn't tell me where." The Eiyon replied, issuing a raised eyebrow from the man from across the counter. He would utter a few words in his chin, obviously displeased with Grim's lack of information.
One of his bony hands left the head of his cane, only to reach for something behind his robe. What he pulled out, was a rugged brow pouch, with outlines of what appeared to be coins over it's surface. It's top was tied with a thin, yet sturdy leather bind, one tied in a tight knot. As the bag met the wooden surface of the table, it let out a muffled chime, one that made Grim wonder how much miza could the contained inside.
"Tell Whisper that i brought the money i owed her." He said, pointing with his cane towards a piece of paper sticking to the far end of the wall, one Grim hadn't noticed before. "Tell her it's for that... service." The old man would add, the last word rolling off his tongue.
"Service?" Grim repeated in an equally low tone.
"Yes, for the... service."
"What service?"
The old man took a step back, as if he had received a great insult, only to recoil and draw closer to grim. "Well, wouldn't you like to know?" He asked in a sarcastic manner, only to hush the Eiyon before he got a chance to speak. He grunted in dissatisfaction, only to take his cane, and outstretch his thin hand pointing at the paper he mentioned before. "Go write my name off, I don't want you conning me of of my hard earned miza."
Grim smirked at his remark as he moved towards the pointed out paper. "You are quite the pleasant man." He said with a low chuckle, issuing a scoff from the old man. The pitchmen containing the list of people who owed the shop was rather large, so to speak. Divided in two columns, stood around twelve names, each with a number next to it, alongside several letters. Those were, if he had to guess, what the payment was for.
"It's Alistair, forty miza, right there." Alistair said, using his cane to smack the pouch of gold as he spoke. With a brief nod, a solid black line now ran over his name, meaning that the debt owed to the notions was paid off.
"So, whats your name kid?" The hooded man asked, suddenly in a more polite calm tone. From the brief time Grim knew him, he concluded that civility was something he was incapable of. Yet, there it was, a rather normal question, one he should have started with.
"Grim." The Eiyon replied flatly, slightly amused at the face Alistair made as he heard it.
"Grim?" He repeated, testing it on his tongue. "What kind of name is that?"
"I'd say a fitting one." He would reply, smiling as he returned to his post at the counter.
"Listen kid, you seem nice, but this job isn't really for you." He said, making the Eiyon's smile drop from his face. "I've seen quite a few people attemp working here, but they all ran after day one. Just, don't wast your own time and go find something better to do."
Grim's eyebrow raised at the sudden wave of discouragment that washed him as the elder spoke. So, most of them would leave just after getting here? Maybe not enough time had yet passed, but he was sure the shop was mundane as any could be. It didn't matter anyhow, seeing as none of them were Eiyons. Probbably...
"Listen old man..." Grim said, his tone the same as the one Alistair used when adressing him as boy. "Even Dira herself couldn't make me leave from here, much less anything, or anyone else coming here."
"Let's see how cocky you will be after this..." Alistair said as he turned around to leave.
The first thing Grim noticed was a presence. He couldn't describe it better, he just knew there was a certain presence close by. Then, a chill came, as if winter had suddenly returned, without a sign or warning. As the Eiyon threw his black robe over his back, seeing it became colder, he picked up another thing up. Death, there was death in the air.
Heh heh heh...
Came a soft, etheral giggle. Immidiately he felt alarmed, not knowing what caused the sound. It was as if it belonged to a little girl, high pitched yet at the same time somehow hollow. Could this be one of the ghost Whisper had told him about?
Just then, the sound of rock scraping against wood came from above his head. Turning his gaze upwards, the robed man had only a split second to dodge a heavy stone bowl that came falling down from the top of the shelves. It shattered as it fell down, leaving pieces flying in every direction, as well as leaving more than a few cracks in what was left of it.
"Well, that is not a nice way to say hello..." The Eiyon remarked, eyeing the mess he had to clean up later. If this was a ghost, it sure was acting childish.
In response, another object was pushed down, this time an ornate wooden box. Half expecting this outcome, Grim was ready and had caught it before it landed on the floor, or his head. On the other hand, waht he didnt expect was the whole shelf going down as it slowly tilted towards his side. Placing the box he held at the counter as fast as was humanly possible, the Eiyon a hand at each side, pushing back. Though he felt as if someone was still trying to knock it down from the opposite side, he managed to owerpower the person, and finally push it back into place.
"You're no fun at all..." Chimed a voice behind him. As Grim turned, he would see the visage of a young, ghostly girl. Shimmering black hair framed her round face, where a pout rested. Her small hands were folded over her chest, one covere by a plain summer dress.
"Well, my idea of fun doesn't include me selling the skin off my back to pay for the damage someone else caused." Grim replied, mimicking her in the sense that he crossed his own hands over his chest, leaning at the wooden counter in front of him.
"I'm Claire, what are you doing in my house?" The gohstly girl asked, placing her hands on her narrow hips.
"I'm Grim, and i work here."
"Why didn't anybody ask me if you can work here?" She asked, the pout her lips formed only growing larger by the second.
"Are you sure this is your..." He attempted to ask, finding the whole sittuation rather amusing. Yet, as if someone who has been asked the same many time in the past, Claire predicted the end and decieded to reply before Grim had a chance to finish. "YES, this is my home. If it weren't, would i be able to do this?" She asked one last time before suddenly dissapearing, leaving nothing behind but a whisp of soulmist. Grim held a smile at his face for only a moment longer, before the sound of shattering glass came from the other room, one he know served as the bedroom of his employers.
Adding a bit of a spring to his step, he oppened the door at the far end of the stone wall, only to find himself in horror at the view. Apparently very pleased with herself, the ghostly girl stood on top of what Grim assumed was a neatly made master bed. What was left of said bed was now covering the stone surface of the floor, paired with a number of turned chairs lying around. Next to the bed stood a dark wooden nightstand, with it's drawers lying not far from it, with a single cup of stained red glass sitting on top of it. The rest of the set was likewise on the ground, in pieces of course.
With nothing of his smile left on his face, Grim hurried towards the Girl, intending of doing... something. Yet even doing that something had proven to be impossible, seeing as Claire preformed the same move she did only a moment ago, blinking back into the workroom.
He had not the time to turn around, yet already, a decent portion of the shop's inventory was lying in a messy heap on the ground in front of the shelv that had housed it only mere moments ago. On the ground lay many oppened containers, from each finding exit various dusts, various leaves and pouches containing the unknown.
"That will teach you not to quesstion me." She said, panting slightly. "I am tired, and will leave for now, but i will be back." The ghost child said as she yawned, only to dissapear the same way she entered. The whole sittuation left Grim in a state of disbelief, a thing evident by how his jaw gung slightly open at the chaotic sight before him.
"Dira help me..."
Quite some time later, the busy city of Syliras had died down, if ever so slightly. The decent folk were already in their beds, or on their way towards them. Yet, somewhere in the great settlement's depths, a lantern still bured bright, illuminating the room occupied by one tired man. Even though sleep was the first thing on his mind, he was quite far from reaching his goal.
The bedroom was looking decent enough, with all the sheets back on their respective places, and the glass shards, from the largest to the smallest, safely removed, allowing one to thread over the floor without rist of injuring themselves. In the other room, the faint sound of scratching could be heards as a broom work it's way over the cold stone floors, removing what particles were left lying down. Most of the things were back on their places on the shelf likewise, places as best as Grim could remmember, with their contents, or at least what he could salvage safely inside.
A slow sigh escaped his throat as the Eiyon finally let go of the broom his hands had been clenching to for the last several hours, only to place it against the wall he had took it from. Even though he wondered why Whisper accented where the broomstick was located at several times, he now understood that when she said 'in case you need it', was actually, 'when you need it'.
Grim didn't bother to raise his head as the door opened again. He only did so once he recognized the voice of Whisper, who sported an amused smirk on her freckled face.
"Well damn, i though that this place would be in much worse shape than it is." The blonde added with a chuckle. "Didn't Claire or some of the others come and visit?" She asked.
Some of the others?
Grim shot her a look from behind the curtain of his raven hair, one that told her everything. "Oh she was here alright..." Grim replied, mortified by the fact that there were more than one if those creatures. Now, he had grasped the meaning behind Alistair's words. Others would come, and after being welcomed in such a way, they leave as fast as they could. Yet, he was not like the others.
"Think you can handle it?" Whisper asked as she raised an eyebrow, although spread knowing the answer.
"Handle it?" Grim repeated the question after her, a smug grin appearing in his face. "I can more than handle it.
"In that case, welcome to the family!"
