Step Into My Parlor

[Saej Mirilla]

47th of Searing 120 Year of the Age of Steel
Sun's Zenith¤

Everyone has secrets, some more than others. Some would say a person without secrets is lying or even that time reveals all secrets like moving sands. That was where Saej was at this moment, she had the wagon pulled up out front of the Silver Lion Inn with the horse and mule at the ready. Poppy was in the back and Shasco sat on the seat with Saej. Having been gripping the reins a little too tightly Shasco pointed to her white knuckles and gave her a knowing look. Letting out a sharp exhale she relaxed her hands and looked at Shasco with a mixture of fear and anxiety.
“You know it’s just for a few days right?”
Shasco said in Kyriac cocking an eyebrow.
“What’s gotten into you, sis?”

Saej wouldn’t say it out loud but something about this all seemed prophetic. An elf noble just waltzes up with a broken brain and invites them to stay at his estate out of the goodness of his heart? Sometimes things were too good to be true and this just felt like one of them. Maybe it was a trap? Maybe what he said was partially true, but maybe he was a highwayman and had killed all of those merchants, like a serial killer, and now they were next. Part of her knew, logically, she was blowing this out of proportion but the other part, the part that had stayed up all night fretting about her livelihood and family, had gone a touch insane.
“Well, if you didn’t trust him you shouldn’t have said yes. There could have been maybe an even cheaper hostel down in the Low Quarter or maybe we could’ve just bit the bullet so to speak and slept in the wagon. Either way I like him just fine. He seems like a genuine guy.”
Shasco folded his arms and looked at her sagely.

And so, just like that, her secret was out. ‘What was she thinking?’ Was all she could wonder. Saej was, for all intents and purposes, a well mannered recluse. She had her moods and needed space a great deal, having few friends and some acquaintances was her best modality to live in harmony with herself. Even in a caravan she had her wagon that she was in charge of and had been doing so ever since the blacksmith from her past sponsored her at sixteen. She put a hand to her face as if she was dizzy and sighed, speaking in Kyriac as well.
“You’re right. It’s not that I don’t trust him, I guess when it comes down to it I just don’t like change. Inns? I can do that. Caravans, I can do that too. Throw me in with a bunch of people that I can orbit but not talk to and I’m fine. This though, something about it reminds me of your parents, or maybe mine? Both? I guess, who knows. I just haven’t stayed in an actual house since we went and saw your parents oh I dunno three or four years ago.”

Shasco smiled at her and threw an arm around her, hugging her tightly.
“It’s going to be okay. Hey, you know YOU’RE the big sister right? I’m younger after all.”
Saej gave him a squeeze before letting him go.
“Sure, that’s why I’m the brains and you’re the brawn. Let me have my moment!”
“Well, I’ll be here every step of the way. Once our time is up, we’re out. I’ll look around for good spots for the wagon, I really am just not going to end up in a poor house with you Saej. Sorry. Hey, here he comes.”

They watched him approach silently. Then Shasco in all his infinite wisdom said in Kyriac,
“Ah, but he is handsome isn’t he? Think of it, a noble’s home!”
Saej rolled her eyes at him,
“Yeah, sure really handsome.”
He was always thinking with his drawers.
‘If that key was anything to go by that house is old, I bet filled with cobwebs too. Ew.’

When he got close enough Saej said in common,
“Hello Althalos. We got the wagon ready without you, not much in it I’m afraid, heh uh. Ready when you are!”

[Althalos]

☿

He'd needed the extra sleep, he decided with another yawn. That had to have been his third one in as many minutes, and he didn't suspect for a minute that it would be the last. The sun was already hanging in the sky, but he had only just managed to awaken from the timeless void of slumber. The reason for his exhaustion was easily made manifest in the presence of a chunk of raw meat still lying on his table. It had been a bird last night, though looking at it now put him in mind of a meatloaf that had been mixed, and not yet cooked. Churned meat and half-torn entrails leaked out of the facsimile of a corpse, bite marks evident across the form, especially where the stumps of the legs had been taken off in a single bite each.

It had been entirely necessary for him to partake of the meal, despite its gruesome appearance. His fingers had begun to break out with more frequent intensity, and he had even begun to notice slight gashes appearing upon his palms, though these were rarer and relatively minor. While they hadn't begun to ache and grow sore, it was only a matter of time before the decomposition managed to overtake them entirely, and then continue spreading throughout the remainder of his undying form. Nevertheless, consuming the bird after he had left his meeting with Shasco and Saej had proven to entirely halt the effects of the corruption, delaying it for another number of nights.

"Executioner and eater all in one." He muttered to himself, running the phrase through his head as he tried to change his tone in order to make it sound even the slightest bit better. Eventually, the mental exercise in futility completed, he stretched out his cold flesh, dressed in his favorite nobleman's coat, and set about the short trip to meet his newfound companions at the Silver Lion Inn. He had nearly walked out of the door before he realized that it would probably be best to dispose of the bird before they returned. A short trip back inside and a subtle flick of the wrist down an alleyway was enough as far as he was concerned. Some animals would come to consume the corpse, and perhaps, if he was lucky, he would consume them in turn.

Finally, having wasted his morning in slumber and mental rhetoric, Althalos managed to arrive with a surprising degree of punctuality to greet Saej and Shasco. He offered each of them a wave and a friendly half-smile, marred only by the drowsiness still present in his eyes. "Good morning Saej, good morning Shasco." He didn't immediately see the suspicious hound but imagined it was somewhere within the confines of the wagon. "I didn't quite expect you to have an entire wagon's worth of possessions, I'll admit." He didn't seem perturbed by the number of things, though he did chew on the edge of his cheek in thoughtful consideration.

"I'm sure there'll be enough space. May just need to move some things around and such." He finally concluded, snapping out of his analytical stupor. "If you're ready, I'll lead the way, then. Won't be far." He offered, spinning upon his heel, and assuming they acquiesced, leading them to his cottage about fifteen minutes walk from the Inn.

[Saej Mirilla]

¤

How she thought the elf was a highwayman she now couldn’t figure out. Maybe it was just a stereotype but he seemed much too,
‘Well, like an intelligent noble rather than some destitute savage wanting to rob them.’
That being said she still had some manner of trepidation having merely tapped on the surface, not even scratched, of the personality and mannerisms of this man. A wonder popped into her head at why she could sometimes be so impulsive, with how reserved she considered herself it never ceased to amaze her why she would take such leaps of faith.
“I’ll tell you honestly, we don’t have much. You don’t need to worry, what we do have can stay in the wagon. I think you mentioned something about a bed yesterday? Maybe I dreamed that, we have two bedrolls and can sleep on the floor, we don’t want to inconvenience you too much.”

He led the way and she walked the horse and mule slowly, the slightest walk that trailed with him at the helm. The cobblestone roads make the wheels clack and the wagon bump a time or two but it was smooth sailing, much smoother than being out in the wilds. That was the plus to city life, as long as the roads weren’t busy it was easy to glide along in the wagon. The way was quiet on her end, she took the time to be mindful of her surroundings and pay attention to the trip there. Not like there could be a lot of small talk with an amnesiac.
‘How long have you lived there, got any kids, a wife, what noble house or kinship are you from?’
All kind of fell quite flat in her mind and even Shasco seemed to be just content not talking and just enjoying himself in the wagon. He was leaned back with his elbows outstretched and hands on his face shielding his eyes from the sun, she thought she could see him smiling.

Having been in Althalos’s presence again she could see he was a rather mild person. It made her slightly embarrassed to think of all the wild fantasies that had played in her anxiety ridden mind for hours. Still, it did her heart some shame to have to board with a stranger as if he was performing a charity. Feeling self-conscious at worst was something the usually accepting Saej wasn’t used to. While she pondered this on the road she realised that may be why she made such quick decisions at times. Something about hitting the road, finding something new, doing something off-kilter was part of her bookish soul. She thought maybe it would be just fine to have an actual home to stay in for a change, she loved her creature comforts after all.

Eventually it would seem they arrived to Althalos’s home.

[Althalos]

☿

Althalos had made the assumption that any pair that needed an entire wagon to carry their things must be dealing with quite the haul of personal effects and loot. Perhaps there were hidden messages somewhere within a compartment of the wagon, because Saej had mentioned that she was a courier. He imagined there might be a musical instrument in there as well, and perhaps the equipment necessary to tune and repair such a tool, though he didn't have any real idea of quite how difficult it was to maintain whatever Shasco chose to play, or whether there was even necessarily anything one could do to prevent the slow decay of an instrument -- he could sympathize with them if that was the case.

Nevertheless, his assumptions seemed to have been incorrect. Saej made it known to him that they didn't possess much in the way of material things, and that whatever they did possess could be kept within the confines of the wagon. He supposed that that would take care of any spacing issues, but he also recognized that there were probably a number of amenities that were plainly missing from his home. It wouldn't have been such a terrible idea for them to have brought at least a few niceties along with them, but perhaps they would park nearby, and be able to use the wagon more as an externally located closet.

A smirk creased his features at the idea of Saej having dreamed up his statement about there being a bed. "House has been known to you for a single night and you're already dreaming about it?" He could've taken the joke to a bawdier place, he supposed, but he left that in the hands of Shasco. Besides, he still didn't know the pair particularly well, and he hoped that the simple joke would help to break any tension that still remained between the three of them. "But... really. I don't know if you'll both need to sleep on the floor like that. I'm up at odd hours for business. I'm just as liable to sleep in the middle of the day." His business involved the consumption of animals, but he could always cover his trail by bringing up his art and some nonsense about needing moonlight to find the best muses.

After a short walk, they arrived at the cottage. It had been nestled nicely between a few other buildings, not leaving any space within the busy city for a garden or a lawn of any kind. There was a single window poking out of the front of the building, and another near its' rear exposing the street in front of the home, and the slight alleyway between buildings behind it. Bringing the old key to his hand, he promptly unlocked the doorway, and allowed each of his new companions entry. The odor of the home was somewhat stale, apparently having been unopened and uncirculated for a few hours, and so he went about the process of opening the front-most window to let in a breeze.

"Like I said, it isn't really much." He said, looking towards the chair and the dining table it was pressed against. He was happy that he had cleaned up his earlier meal, and now the only thing laying upon the table were some ledgers and a journal taken from the caravan from whence he had awoken. Stowed away underneath of the table was a wooden chest for easy storage, and across from the table lay the bunk, beginning to creak under the strain of weakened wood as exceedingly small insects burrowed into its base.

Perhaps the only truly notable feature of the room was the rug. Visible as soon as one walked into the home, it had clearly been ornate in its conception. It flowed beautifully, as if though the perfect match between silk and fur, soft to the touch and yet not so fuzzy as to indicate a weak constitution. Immaculate and simplistic, the rug made the house shine in ways that no other piece of furniture did. It was spectacular, and utterly inviting to all who entered.

"If you'd like to store some things, feel free to use the chest. If you're tired, use the bunk. If you're hungry --" He pointed into the corner of the room where a set of ten ration-packs had been neatly packed, collecting dust. --"Eat as many of those as you'd like. They should still be perfectly good, I just don't much care for them." He shrugged as if though he had offered them a mere snack instead of so many meals. "Any questions? Concerns?"

[Saej Mirilla]

¤

Shasco had laughed and Saej scowled at his mention of dreaming of the bed, they both understood the double entendre. It was a joke at her expense and she tried not to take it too personally but she could feel a pinkness creeping up to her cheeks. The mention of his business being at late hours was interesting but could wait for questions until when they arrived.

And arrive they did, his cottage looked nice with a single window but it was small, much smaller than what she expected out of the nobleman. Revealing his rusty key he opened the door to his home and went inside. His guests took their time getting down from the wagon’s driver seat and Saej checked on Poppy, shouldered her bag before following Shasco inside, clinging to the arm of his shirt. She had considered for a moment using a window to look at the inside of the home but wasn’t willing to reveal that magic in broad daylight in the middle of the city, having always been taught it was a secretive power and one to keep close to the heart. Choking a bit initially when coming inside, the air was so stale it burned the back of her throat. She blinked at him from behind the glasses but made no apologies as he seemed to get the hint and opened the window.

Shasco had shook her off his sleeve and was touring around the small house, he creaked open the chest and peered inside, satisfied apparently with what he saw, then made himself comfortable on the bed. It made an awful groan when he sat on it and he laughed. She stood at the door with her hands clasped and looking sheepish, not sure where to sit or what exactly to do. That was when she noticed the rug, a very nice rug in fact somehow the sight of the rug put her at ease. It was a good home. After an uncomfortable silence on her part she replied to Athalos’s words.

“I… We thank you. I need to go through the wagon’s things, then I’ll see if I have any questions for you. Right now I’m just very grateful.”
With that she headed back to the wagon, the last thing to be seen was the flip of the hem of her dress out the door. Shasco looked at Althalos and cocked an eyebrow in his Kyriac accented common he explained,
“You’d do best to take her at face value. You know, she can be hard to live with, she’s very direct and not always kind. A lot of dead silences and groans from that one too, she also just sleeps a lot. But I know her better than anyone, if she doesn’t like you, you won’t see her again. No drama, just maybe a note if you’re lucky and then she’s gone. Just… trying to warn you. Saej she... she’s like a hearth fire, warm from afar but if you get too close it may burn. Me? I’m a model house guest. Oh so polite and I daresay the pinnacle of what a visitor should be. You’ll miss me, at least, when I’m gone!”

Saej had no idea about the conversation ensuing. She was rummaging through her things and putting them into one of her crates to be carried inside, taking her time with the ordeal. And what would they do with the horses was the biggest question on her mind. She would have to board them somewhere still and the wagon could fit in the alley, she thought. Into the crate she stuck a manner of items, when she went to pick it up it was slightly heavy but not so heavy to elicit a grunt. She carried the crate into the house, opening the ajar door with her knee and setting the crate eventually on the table.
“Do you mind if I maybe, I dunno, set up a couple things. I just, I know you don’t have much right now I thought maybe I could make myself comfortable putting a few things out. Also, where is your chamber pot or your kitchen? If there's anything we can do, as in, to repay this just let us know.”
Saej said, not looking him in the eyes and with a slight frown on her face.

If Althalos looked into the crate it contained, a lantern, a pint of oil, 3 torches, her backpack filled with toiletries, all of her clothes, the rolled up hammock, a blanket draped over the side. A bedroll was tucked under her arm as she regarded the pale elf noble. Behind her eyes was just a clear question and some anxiety. Looking around the room she noticed the ledger on the table and scrutinized it from afar before running a hand over it idly but not opening the cover.

[Althalos]

☿

Opening the window had certainly been the correct move on his part. After having entered into the stale house, Saej had quickly gagged, apparently repelled by the odor. Althalos for his part had recognized that it wouldn't be entirely comfortable for the two living persons, but in his state of undeath, he had never really needed to worry a great deal about what things smelled like around him. There had been certain advantages associated with not needing to fulfill the normal activities of respiration and digestion, though it was difficult to excuse the absence of these things. That had been part of the reason he'd bothered with lifting the window in the first place, to demonstrate openly his solidarity with the idea of pushing out the foul air.

Shasco for his part seemed less deterred, having entered into the place and immediately begun rummaging about the chest and then hopping onto the bunk. There was the shriek of old wood, and Althalos questioned for a moment if it would give way from the sudden forcefulness, but it held firm, attached by whatever remnants of its construction kept it glued to the wall. His offer of answers for any enterprising questions was met with Saej informing him of her gratefulness and then exiting to retrieve her things from the wagon. He had prepared to leave out after her to assist with the hauling work when he caught the part-Hytori looking at him with a cocked eyebrow.

There was a brief and cautionary warning in his words about the behavior of Saej, and while he wasn't entirely certain what had coaxed it out, he questioned whether the jest from earlier had truly been upsetting somehow. It had been at her expense, of course, but it had been light-hearted enough that he didn't imagine she would mind. Perhaps he ought to refrain from further jokes until he had become better acquainted with the group, though. Of course, with the usual eccentricity, he'd begun to associate with the bard, he began to joyfully boast about how he was the pinnacle of a house guest, and how he would be missed when he had finally made his exit. "I'll keep that in mind, model guest." He spoke, half of his sentence a serious acceptance and the rest in response to his brag.

Suddenly, a knee slid into the breach of the door, forcing it open, and he started to move again. "Sorry, I was going to try to help with that." He apologized, standing awkwardly a bit away from her as if trying to figure out a way that he could possibly assist now that the work had been completed. Finally, recognizing that it had concluded, he looked upon the crate with curiosity. "Of course. Make yourselves comfortable -- you too, Shasco. This isn't an Inn where you can't redecorate and move things a bit."

There was mention of his chamberpot and his kitchen and the faintest glimpse of worry crossed his features. He didn't actually own a chamberpot, because it hadn't been necessary, but perhaps he could make up a convincing lie about its sudden disappearance. He didn't own a kitchen either in the conventional sense, though the dining table was close enough that one could work there if they wished to prepare foodstuffs. He was fairly confident that a hole in the corner of the room, overlayed with brick as it was, was actually a chimney and firepit. He'd not needed to cook anything though since he'd stayed, and there were only a few unburnt chunks of wood and ash to mark it.

"You'll laugh, but I actually broke the chamberpot on my way out this morning. Struck it with my foot and had to throw the whole thing away before it started to reek." He lied, glancing at one of the corners of the cottage as if selecting it to be the usual place for the pot. "As for a kitchen, the home isn't quite large enough for a whole one, as I'm sure you could guess, but I think I could start a fire in the fireplace there, and we could --" Could what, he thought, trying to determine logistically how the presence of the fire could be utilized. "--I suppose hold a pan over it?" He concluded, weakly, staring into the fireplace with a sigh.

He pulled away from his observations, returning to his appraisal of the crate, and briefly glancing at the things visible from the top. He didn't want to pry through her possessions, but his curiosity demanded that he at least skim the top. Perhaps her own had caught her, because while he had suspected she was looking at the crate, the movement of her hand drew her closer to one of the ledgers he had scavenged, brushing gently over its cover. "One of the few things I took from the site. There is another and a journal." He smiled warmly at her, directing his gaze to her, though his voice held a certain severity as he spoke, "Please, be careful with them."

[Saej Mirilla]

¤

Shasco had laughed at the growling tone of the model guest comment and was still giggling when Saej had come in through the door.
“Oh, it’s fine. I can say I’ve carried a few crates a time or two. I brought in the hammock--”
Shasco got up from the bed and it gave another heaving creak. Saej’s heart stopped for a moment.
‘Good gods was it going to break? We’ve not even been here 5 minutes!’
“Hey, yes! Saej-- good thinking you brought the hammock. I know, we can move the table over nearer to the bed and tie it between the two. Gods, it’ll be nice to sleep on something that isn’t the hard ground.”

Frowning at the explanation of the chamberpot she listened to his words, drinking in his lies and not for one moment doubting what he had to say. Why would she? Having spent all night worrying about some kind of ambush or some other nefarious dealings she was relieved to see how well kept his house was. Even the firepit, which she hadn’t noticed until now, was clean. Only a few ashes and a couple pieces of wood graced its visage, making her feel impressed. There was perhaps a layer of dust about the place and the awful smell in the beginning but it just made her wonder more about the conversation from last night. Things like ‘where was he coming from and why here?’
‘For reasons same as my own maybe, why is anyone anywhere? Dunes of time.’

She actually laughed at his explanation of how to cook over the fire. Leave it to a noble to not know how to cook. The laugh made a few of the wrinkles on her forehead smooth out leaving her more at ease.
“Sure, I know how to cook on a fire. I’ll figure something out.”
She told him in common, eyes still shining with the giggle.
“My gods man you kicked and broke your chamberpot? What a prophetic way to wake up this morning, Saej being your houseguest and all. You know if any prophecy was told about my arrival it may have been whispered to you by the creaking bed.”
Shasco said with a devilish look in his eyes, grinning at the two. Saej snorted and giggled some more, trying to hold back her laughter. Between chortles she took her hand from the journal and tried being serious,
“I won’t touch them again, sorry. Ha ha! Damn you Shasco. Really though Althalos, I understand these are your whole life.”

The warmth of the nobleman's smile and intense gaze cut her giggle fit short and she stared back at him for a few moments as the last of the giggles subsided. He really did have a great smile and a genuinely warm demeanor. Finally she tore her gaze away and rubbed a hand over her face, she needed that.
“So, Altholos, what do you do for farthings? I know you said earlier you were busy at night and sometimes slept during the day.”
Shasco had taken it upon himself to move the table closer to the bed now, taking care of the things on top of it and avoiding the chest, then when he was done with that began rigging the hammock up between the bed and table.

[Althalos]

☿

Her seeming acceptance of his apology was enough to put Althalos at ease again. He had genuinely wanted to prove himself to be a helpful and reliable host, though it seemed he had been distracted with other matters of lesser importance. It was important that a person was hospitable, especially in Atinaw where such things could be noticed by the general population. That wasn't to say that he had invited the pair into his home solely to demonstrate his own virtues and improve his social standing among the locals of Alfsos, but simply that it was a potential likelihood surrounding the invitation, and he didn't want to prove it wrong by doing poorly in his role as host.

"That's pretty clever, bringing a hammock. I wouldn't have even thought about putting one inside." He spoke in approval, eyeing the table and the bunk as he tried to visualize the setup process. "Could even take it down when it's not being used so there's not much room taken up by it." He concluded, apparently having finished his analysis. In truth, he felt rather useless between the pair of well-worn travelers. They seemed much more capable of things like erecting a hammock or preparing a wagon for travel or even unloading. What was he going to do to help them move? Draw a pretty picture?

The feeling of uselessness was only intensified when Saej made it evident that she did in fact know how to use the fireplace. He was pretty sure that he would have bungled the entire effort if it was left to him, perhaps attempting to spear something through and use the fireplace as if though it were a campfire. Of course, maybe that was what she was going to do too, in which case he ought to invest in some form of a skewer or another. He genuinely hoped that she was a good chef because it was becoming increasingly evident that he was going to have to eat a meal or two in the presence of the pair. He didn't need to eat it per se, but it would prove increasingly unnatural if he ignored eating entirely in their presence.

"A prophecy of broken bunks and --"He paused a moment, attempting to finish the alliteration properly, but finding an absence of suitable words rustling through his head, "--and problematic pots" He sighed nonchalantly, apparently not so bothered by the inability to find a proper response as he was anything else. He wasn't a writer after all, at least, not one of repute and capability. Perhaps there would be time to practice such a skill though. Her apparent seriousness in regards to his journals was satisfactory and put him at ease in regards to those, and he nodded at her to demonstrate it. "Thank you."

There was a look between them that felt like it lasted far longer than it truly did, and then the conversation shifted again, an ever-present and lively thing as it was, especially in the presence of the relative strangers. "Mostly I take them from dead bodies, apparently." He bit down on his cheek a second after saying it, feeling immediately that it was very much an uncouth subject to broach. It was the truth of where he had found many of his initial funds, but no one wanted to hear about how he had searched through the belongings of the dead to get his start. Actually, the less they knew about that whole situation, probably the better. "I'm a painter. I have a little workshop in town called Stolen Moments. I sell people paintings of wild animals they've hunted or of their Kinships and things like that." He interjected quickly, trying to leave little time for a reaction to his previous comment.

"I paint during the day when it's light out, obviously, but sometimes I need to find something as a muse to paint, and the world is a fascinating thing in the night, especially when the moon is full in the sky." He smiled again, envisioning the glory of the lesser luminary as it walked across the sky. "As you can understand, my nightly escapades sometimes tire me out. I don't sleep much, in truth, but a little now and then is definitely worthwhile." He cocked his head to the side, looking between Saej and Shasco as a question rattled through his head. "Shasco, I'm assuming you'll be playing in the taverns and inns like last night, but what will you be doing, Saej?"

[Saej Mirilla]

¤

It was becoming evident that the brother-sister duo had made themselves at home at the expense of making Althalos uncomfortable. When he was inspecting the hammock area Saej caught Shasco’s eye and tried to give him a look that said, “look at Althalos”. She wasn’t sure if Shasco caught her meaning or not. As she talked about cooking the silver elf got even more diminutive it would seem and she felt a little sorry for him. Maybe he was second guessing allowing strangers into his house? Whatever was going through his mind the scenario made Saej feel like he was a genuine person, his emotions seemed to run on the surface.

She gave his comment about dead bodies a half-smile, half-grimace.
‘He must be lonely, to let essential vagabonds into his house like this.’
Allowing the comment to pass was easy, she wasn’t going to dredge up his trauma over and over again unless he, himself, wanted to talk about it. Like they had said the day before whatever was suppressed needed to take its time coming back. Saej certainly wasn’t a healer, this was out of her realm of expertise.

“A painter staring at the moon as his muse? Romantic somehow, I mean wow Althalos you’re just a big softy.”
Came Shasco from his newly created hammock. He was tossing a ball up in the air and catching it while watching them talk like a cat would watch a mouse. Saej rolled her eyes but caught herself smiling, Shasco loved to flirt. She quickly changed the subject to spare Althalos some embarrassment.

“Me? I’m a courier. I need to get a good layout of the city if I’m going to be running all over it. I will have to leave soon so I can get out and put up some for hire signs, then I’m going to just take a walk. Painting seems nice. I’ll have to check out ‘Stolen Moments’ on one of my runs. In fact, I think I need to get out there now while it’s still early. I’d love to stay and chat more Althalos but you’ll have to see me later in the evening. I’m going to go get Poppy and head out.”

Kind of wondering what to do next she dallied in the room not knowing how to exit until she finally just left with a wave. Gathering the lazy giant malamute from the wagon Saej would try bringing her inside. Entering the room was hard as Poppy put all her weight at the door to stop herself from being let in. Saej had to forcibly push and pull until Poppy scooted herself in the door with her tail between her legs, finding the farthest corner from Althalos and curling up there.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into her lately, but she’s a great dog. She won’t bother you at all, I promise you that. Anyway, time to head out. Goodbye!”

With that she left to traverse the streets, leaving her small family in the presence of Althalos. Shasco practiced his juggling for some time before eventually falling asleep in a sprawl. Poppy would hide in the corner, the massive pooch shying away from the undead elf until she too found herself in a much more restless sleep than usual, legs kicking and barking in her slumber as if running from something.

[Arkash]

Review Request: viewtopic.php?p=3013#p3013

XP: 8 Each!

Magic Experience: Nothing at all!

Injuries/Ailments: Maybe next time.

Awarded Lores:
Althalos
Navigation - Leading Others Through Busy Streets
Etiquette - Offering to Carry Things
Etiquette - Don't Make Grim Jokes
Animal Handling - Stay Away from Aggressive Animals
Appraisal - Checking Valuables in a Crate
Meditation - Remain Calm Even When Your Things are Touched

Saej
Mount; driving a wagon down city streets
Etiquette; Making yourself at home
Etiquette; Giving people space
Etiquette; Moving into someone else's home
Intimidation; Doing things for yourself
Animal Handling; Fitting an unwilling dog through a door

Loot: Nothing that I saw.

Comments:
That was a sweet thread. I personally loved how much thought was put into Althalos's habits as an undead monstrosity that's trying to blend in, and how his household threatened to unravel all that. Good thing he's such a good liar! Saej was almost as awkward as the dead guy toward the start of this, but she opened up well. It was nice to see and heartwarming to read. I hope I get the chance to review more of your threads soon- Maybe once they've all decided what to do about the chamberpot dilemma!

Enjoy the rewards.