Welcome to Scalvoris

[Nightshade Eld]

Ymiden 35th, 718

The half-breed’s wings felt like jelly as she rode the wind currents all the way down, barely having the energy let alone the want to flap her wings any more than necessary. The woman had known this was the kind of effects she’d need to deal with after her trip was over. At the very least she’d have the next 10 trials to get over the pain enough to go back home or alternatively have the next 10 trials to find a less taxing way home. Either way, she needed to be back before the season ended so she could make sure Noth hadn’t burned the city to cinders within the time of her absence. She hadn’t told him that she would be leaving. Hopefully, that would be some kind of deterrent, thinking that she was still present and doing her heroic stuff. She'd left Dru in charge and had only told Dru that she was leaving. Hopefully, nothing bad would happen. She hesitated to leave him alone in Etzos for even this long. The anxiety already bubbling away in the corners of her chest.

As her feet connected with the earth she felt relief spread through her body, her wings going limp. She’d taken plenty of chances to rest over the course of the little journey. She’d landed for small amounts of time and had ridden wind currents whenever possible for breaks, flapping her wings as little as possible while staying aloft, but nothing could compare with even the idea of being able to stay on the ground for a couple of trials. She could hear Zanik’s blessed singing in her ears the moment her feet connected with the solid earth and she didn’t think she’d ever felt so relieved to be on the ground again! Given her nature it wouldn’t be long before she was back in the air again. After all that was where her combat style lied and it was also where she felt most comfortable. But she wasn’t intending to spend extended periods of time there unless she truly had to. She wanted to give herself as long a break as she could before she had to fly all the way back to Etzos.

Was there any way quicker than this? She knew that Rupturing was a thing but she never intended on learning a magic. Most of the immortals she favored hated magic, and the half-breed wasn’t too tempted to disagree. Something about it rubbed her the wrong way. Other than that though, she didn’t know any ways to get back home quickly without flying herself completely ragged. Which was, of course, an option. She’d be practically bedridden for a couple of trials considering she was already in pain from pacing herself, but it was still an option.

The woman turned her attention to the task at hand. She’d worry about the return when it was actually time for that. If she ended up over thinking things she’d just end up turning tail to a, run home and check on Noth, and b, run away because she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. Having to meet anyone new was a problem for the half-breed. Having to pitch an idea was a problem for the half-breed. She nearly had an anxiety attack asking the Captain of the guard if The Roost was gonna be okay doing jobs for those without the resources or importance to get help from the guard. Having the face the leaders of Isonomia without knowing anything but the rumors and stories that found their way to Etzos was seriously nerve-racking.

There was also the issue of the fact she had no idea where she was going.

Being in a new city wasn’t something the half-breed was familiar with. She hadn’t ever left Etzos often meaning she wasn’t the best traveler. She knew nothing about the landscape of the area let alone how to find her way to where she needed to be. In fact, it was fairly obvious to anyone looking at the rather uncomfortable half-breed that she looked slightly confused. Everything about the city was different, the way the air tasted and how it curled around her body felt so strange and new. Perhaps a little like Foster’s Landing, but also extremely different. She didn’t even pay attention to what kinds of attention she got as she landed. Her reputation wasn’t standing within the city, she was a stranger and she looked like an Avriel, which was to say reactions likely wouldn’t be too friendly.

Glancing around she walked up to the first stranger she saw, at a loss for any other kind of action. “Excuse me, can I have some directions?” Her common, though being her first language, was still a little off perhaps in the ears of those around her as it had lingering traces of the Avriel language which she knew vaguely and Ith’ession which she knew by heart. Not strange enough to be misunderstood, but enough to imply the fact she was from a very distant land.

"Common"

"Ith'ession"

[Rynata]

Two people, side by side, waiting around for something to happen wasn't that unusual of a sight in Scalvoris Town. While townspeople slid in and out of sight, the two merchants idling on the street corner blended in quite well with the background. Rynata kept a look out, watching various heads bounce past while her companion occupied his time with a book. They'd already been here quite a while though, and ironically, it was the older business man that was getting antsy. Finally snapping his novel shut as though he couldn't force himself to read another line, the man let out a sigh.

"I don't think he's coming today. He told me that he should be able to slip out and meet us, but knowing him, he got himself side tracked. Again." The man looked apologetically at the Biqaj, no doubt feeling a little responsible for his wayward friend. "Sorry for the false alarm, I was really hoping to introduce you two. But I have to run, actually, I have another meeting I should be getting to."

"That's alright," Rynata shook her head, not bothered. "Sometimes it's nice to just stand around. I'll try for a little longer and see if he turns up," she assured.

The other merchant looked as though he couldn't quite tell if she was joking or not, but let it pass. "That's fine by me. If that idiot does turn up, drag him over to my inn, we'll work something out from there."

Nodding, Rynata stayed put and watched the man get carried away on the mild current of people flowing in the street. She fixed her gaze on a nearby storefront, not really focusing on the display of colorful wares. She found that in calm moments like this, it was easy to get lost in one's head. The ambient chatter and bustle could be tuned out so that they faded into a vague fuzz, and soon Rynata was in a comfortable sort of bubble. A filter that was not so absolute that she couldn't enjoy the feel of Scalvoris Town on a sunny trial in Ymiden. However, the solitude didn't last long as someone came up to her for directions. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for Rynata, as it was rather common for strangers to approach her for small things. Perhaps it was because she didn't look as though she would ignore them or snap at them to mind their own business.

Effectively pulled out of her own head, Rynata turned to face the slightly uncertain voice that had sounded near her. "Hmm? Oh, hello! Yes, directions? Where to?"

The response had been somewhat of a natural reflex, but now that she actually registered the person before her, Rynata faltered in surprise. Large wings, like those of some great, sleek raven was the first of the other woman's features that jumped out at her. The winged stranger looked a little travel worn, but was still a rather striking figure. What was more, Rynata thought she caught the slightly different rhythm of a foreign accent in her Common. Though she had seen Avriel from afar, she had never had the chance to properly interact with them. Partly because she couldn't just march up and gawk at a stranger, but also because the winged race seemed to prefer the company of their own kind to begin with. Noticing that she was encroaching on the staring rudely territory, Rynata switched her gaze from the stranger's shifting wings to her face, where she hoped it would be more appropriate.

"Are you visiting?" she asked, gesturing toward the city in general, eager to welcome a fellow wanderer if that was the case.

[Devin]

A few trials earlier the Flutterbus had arrived from Desnind for the first time that arc and brought a lot of tourists with it. While Devin didn’t particularly care for the Flutterbus – it was a gigantic moth, and just looking at it made him want to vomit because he found it so disgusting – he was quite happy about all those clueless foreigners as they would make perfect victims for his cons. He had risen bright and early that morning because he didn’t want to miss even one of them and made his way into town.

He was dressed quite expensively, in dark pants, fine black leather shoes and a white silk shirt – Ashen had been quite a profitable season, and he could finally afford all the things that he wanted – and there was a hat on his head. It served to protect him from heat as well as cold, and it had once sported a glorious bright red feather, but unfortunately the feather had broken off, so it was a normal and somewhat boring looking hat now.

He strolled down the street, wondering if he should pretend to be a tourist guide or just pick their pockets while they gawked at the local sights, when his gaze fell on her. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her open-mouthed. She was an Avriel. An Avriel in Scalvoris! He had only ever met one other Avriel in his life. Yuloen had been a prostitute in Almund. He wondered if this stranger knew Yuloen. Did all Avriel know each other?

He decided to approach her because she looked kind of lost, and foreigners that were lost were usually willing to give you a lot of money for your help. It was just then that he noticed Rynata though, Rynata who had been his temporary accomplice during the incident with the tree. He liked her, to some extent, even though he partially blamed her for that mutation, but he still wouldn’t allow her to take the Avriel away from him! She was his!

“I can help!” he interrupted their conversation and smiled brightly, first at Nightshade and then at Rynata. “I know Scalvoris inside out! I know everything and everybody on the island, and my help will only cost you …” He was about to say ‘a few golden nels’, but then his gaze fell on her beautiful midnight black wings again, and he realized that she had something even better to give. “… one of your feathers!” he finished, because his hat really didn’t look the same without a feather.

If she agreed, he’d be the only man in all of Scalvoris with a hat that had an Avriel feather on it!

Everybody would envy him and admire him!

[Nightshade Eld]

Visible relief crossed the expression of the half-breed when Rynata didn't snap at her, shoo her away, call her a filthy disgusting flapper, or do anything less than amicable. It was honestly a relief not to mention a stark contrast from the reception she'd honestly been expecting. It took her a full two arcs in order to build up enough fame and renown to even be looked upon favorably by the people of her city. And even then, that favor was mostly confined to the lower class alone as the upper class found little use for her services and honestly couldn't care less about her existence. Her determination had proved opinions do change, so this most recent season had practically supercharged her with determination. She was set on her course of making it so even the upper class had to acknowledge her and the changes she was making to the city. And that started with helping to create an Etzos based Isonomia branch.

She smiled warmly at Rynata as she began to form her sentence. "Cal-", but before she could finish that sentence she was cut off by a rather loud, and on first impressions rude, young man. He was noticeably younger on top of being absurdly louder than the half-breed. She watched him carefully as he began to start stating his cost. His entrance had somewhat put her on guard. That wasn't' usually the way people approached someone who looked as though she could have been pure Avriel, at least based upon common assumption. A trained eye or any actual pure would be able to tell in a matter of moments that she wasn't pure of blood. After all, her eyes though stormy rolled with a certain degree of warmth that was absent in the cold eyes of the Avriel that saw nothing but the sky and wind. They did not profess love or warmth or friendship, traits that were obviously enough familiar to the half-breed if one took a long enough look. Her eyes were the most important feature that set her apart from her kin, but the normal person wouldn't realize just how human looking she was. They would see an Avriel. And usually, that was a reason for fear. And so the boy who was almost too eager to help the woman instantly set her on edge.

"Oh? A feather you say? And here I thought you were going to try and con me out of some coin when I could just as easily get free directions," her tone fell completely flat as she spoke and she glanced at Rynata for a trill. Her lips quirked upwards slightly and a small laugh bubbled at the back of her throat as she shook her head, though the tone of the laugh was anything but amused. "Unfortunately, I don't have any feathers to spare. The ones you want for whatever it is you desire are likely my flight feathers, and I need those to get home. It'll be at least another season before I lose any of my feathers naturally and it'll take even longer for them to grow back. So I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to pay that price," the emotion came back to her voice, something serene and almost disappointed as she sighed heavily. Her eyes looked so tired as they met with Devin's.

She turned back to Rynata quickly, "I'm looking for a place called Cally's. I want to meet with the Isonomia leader so I can speak with her about helping to set up a branch back in my home city of Etzos. It's also been an extremely long journey, so a place to rest would perhaps bring tears to my eyes." She shook her head, barely having the desire to move her wings which were slowly developing a dull ache at the base. "Axel told me flying to Scal in 32 trials was a poor life choice, but nooo. I didn't listen," she lowered her tone and growled more so to herself than anyone else, the tired expression in her eyes as well as her slight agitation making a little more sense if she'd gotten to Scal from Etzos in a matter of 32 trials. "I would be indebted if you could point me in the right direction, and I also apologize if my nature comes off as a little sour. I'm so very tired," she told Rynata. Apparently, her soured personality came with the addition of ignoring Devin who she'd summed up as a con artist given the way he had approached her. She wasn't even sure if she was entirely right, but based on what she'd seen of the pair so far she'd much prefer the company of the quiet and amicable Rynata in comparison to the loud and flaboyant Devin. If he wanted her attention he could act like a normal person.

"Common"

"Ith'ession"

[Rynata]

“Hello, Devin.” Rynata smiled a little sympathetically as the naturalist’s eager offer was turned down flat. “It’s nice to see you again. Is this for one of your studies?” she asked, referring to his sudden interest in Avriel feathers. “If I come across anyone willing to part with an Avriel feather, I’ll send them your way, shall I?”

It seemed the winged woman preferred her as a guide, and after she stated her destination, Rynata realized that it was just as well. In fact, she let out a pleasantly surprised chuckle.

“Cally’s! I know exactly where that is. And actually, I’m a part of Isonomia, myself.” Rynata grinned brightly and extended a hand toward the newcomer. “Rynata Ki’Oriq. I suppose I’ll welcome you to Scalvoris on behalf of the faction.”

The woman sounded as though she were a prospective new member, and quite a serious one at that. Flying all the way from Etzos to discuss a new branch was already quite a feat. Rynata had been told by her parents that they had once visited the far off city, but all her memories of it were lost as she had been very young at the time. She was quite disappointed that she couldn’t recall anything of the experience. Currently, the only things she knew about the place were its booming gem and jewelry market.

“If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the place, yes?” she said, preparing to lead the way through the city. “The person you want to talk to is Faith. But once you know where Cally’s is, I think you should take time to rest. Flying for so long does sounds tiring. Devin, do you recommend any inns? I haven’t stayed myself, so perhaps you would know better.”

[Devin]

“Oh, you must have confused me with somebody else then! I would never con anybody or demand money for something as simple as giving a woman that appears to be lost directions!” Devin informed Nightshade, acting offended, as if the thought of doing such had really never occurred to him. There was something about the look on the Avriel’s face that gave him the impression that she was currently less than happy. He couldn’t understand why, and he didn’t believe her statement that she needed all of her feathers either. She probably had over a hundred of them. One less would hardly make a difference!

“Rynata is right”, he claimed, grateful for the fact that at least one person had sympathy with him, even if it was for entirely the wrong reasons. He decided to tone it down somewhat. Being bold apparently hadn’t worked. It seemed as if a change of tactics was in order, even though he really, really hated being nice and humble. “I merely wanted the feather for one of my studies. I’m a naturalist, you see, and I’m currently researching beings that are capable of flight. I’m sorry if the tone of my voice left something to be desired”, he apologized somewhat reluctantly and turned to Rynata for a moment.

“I’d appreciate that”, he replied. She was really quite nice and useful, he realized. Maybe he ought to try and befriend her. He wondered what would happen if he told her what he really did for a living, but no, he doubted that she would be okay with him pretending to be a fortune teller, a scientist, a secret agent and a number of other things, mostly for personal gain. It was really quite unfortunate because he could have used a full-time accomplice, and she was one of the most promising candidates that he had met in the past arc. “When I publish my research paper, I’ll be sure to mention your name.”

That Rynata had just offered him an alternate source of Avriel feathers for his hat didn’t mean that he would give up on Nightshade of course, especially not after hearing which place she was looking for. There was much to be gained from associating with somebody like her. “I work at Cally’s!” he informed her which was, surprisingly enough, completely true. “I play the lute for the patrons in the evening because I need something to balance out all the paperwork that I do during the trial. Maybe we could both take you there?” he offered in the calmest and friendliest tone that he was capable of and cringed inwardly because he didn’t sound like himself at all.

“As for inns, the Knight’s Rest is pretty nice”, he decided. “I stayed there for a couple of trials before I rented my house!”

[Nightshade Eld]

She smiled at Rynata as she took the other woman's hand. "I'm Nightshade. Nightshade Eld. It's a pleasure to meet you." The weariness in her voice was getting harder and harder to hide as she shifted her wings uncomfortably. Making such a long flight in such a short time had time a number on her. "That sounds like a lovely idea," she said with a slight laugh as Rynata offered up the idea of resting after finding Cally.

The half-breed then turned her attention back to Devin. "Well, I sincerely apologize but it sounds like the kind of feather you're looking to take is one of the longer ones, yes? These ones here are my flight feathers, and it sounds like you want one of my primaries. Which I simply can't offer you. I won't be able to fly correctly. The feathers of an Avriel are much like the feathers of a bird, they 'clip' together in a sense. Taking away one feather can really mess up the way that a bird flies, occasionally going so far as to make them grounded until the feather in question grows back. And considering once I'm done here I need to fly all the way back to Etzos in under 34 trials to make sure that certain idiots haven't destroyed the city yet, I really can't afford to sacrifice one of my flight feathers. If you're really so desperate for any kind of feather though, there is something I might be able to offer you," she said simply. Her tone wasn't intentionally harsh and her expression gave no impression that she was trying to be mean, but the words did come off with the harshness of someone who was extremely tired and in need of a rest. As she spoke, however, she reached back towards her wing to grab a feather. It was barely an inch or so long, down and soft, the kind you'd more so find on a small bird than an Avriel. She offered it to Devin with a genuine smile, a tired one, but friendly and truly genuine.

After Devin was done speaking the half-breed released a yawn she had desperately been trying to hold back. She hadn't gotten much sleep and when she did it was usually rather hard to land, so she'd spent a lot of time barely half awake drifting on wind currents. "I would like to get something to eat when we get there if neither of you mind? I haven't had a hot meal since I left Etzos. All I've been eating if bear jerky, bear jerky, and more bear jerky," she shivered slightly and shook her head. She was thoroughly sick of the flavor but at the very least she was stubborn. She had so much saved up... that was mostly thanks to the fact she ended up getting in way too many fights with way too many bears. And she couldn't help but question why.

"Common"

"Ith'ession"

[Rynata]

Rynata nodded agreeably and turned into a side-street that would eventually open up into the avenue that the restaurant faced. This particular offshoot from the road that Nightshade had landed in was roughly paved with mismatched stones and was lined with buildings packed tightly on either side. The enclosed space was almost claustrophobic, but one was able to see sunlight pooling where the street wound out of view. Personally, Rynata enjoyed having just the narrow strip of sky overhead. The heavens being reduced to a narrow sliver carried a different kind of appeal from the vast blue horizon that she usually saw from the sea.

“Alright, then. We can take you to Cally’s where you can also break your bear jerky fast. And after, Devin can show you to the inn.” Navigating around some potted plants, Rynata looked over at the new arrival and added, “I hear the food at Cally’s is something to write home about, though I’ve never actually sat down and had any myself. I might join you, if you don’t mind.” All this time and she had never actually had any meals in Faith’s restaurant. Since Faith would be departing soon, it only seemed appropriate that she take the opportunity.

“And I don’t believe I’ve ever had any bear meat before,” she said. Seeing Nightshade’s grimace in reminiscing about the experience, Rynata grinned sympathetically. “Though I imagine anything gets tiring when it’s the only thing on the menu.”

Speaking of bears, that reminded her of her rescuer who had turned into one. A Becomer, she assumed. Just like her attacker. Imagining bear jerky and people who turned into bears together was not such a pleasant idea, and Rynata soon shared Nightshade’s reluctance for them.

Emerging onto the bright avenue, she turned toward Devin. They were nearly upon the restaurant, and she wanted to confirm something before they headed in.

“The inn you mentioned. The Knight’s Rest, yes? I hope it’s not too far from here.”

After all, it would be a shame if their tired visitor had to trek far from the restaurant.

[Devin]

As time went on, Nightshade started to get on Devin’s nerves, but the thief tried not to show it. On the contrary, he was all humble smiles and fake understanding as he listened to her explanation as to why she couldn’t part with any of her big feathers. He was just about to say something about her claim that she would fly back to Etzos (he doubted it!) when something else that she’d said caught his attention, and his eyes shimmered brightly with curiosity.

“Which idiots are trying to destroy Etzos – and why?” he wanted to know, secretly wondering if he’d be able to take advantage of the situation, and if Nightshade would become his ticket to unimaginable riches. He wanted to say more, but it was just then that she reached towards her wing and grabbed a feather. He momentarily pouted as he realized how small it was, but a trill or so later his eyes lit up. It was a tiny feather, but still, it was an Avriel feather. Nobody else had one! The smile that he offered her in return was just as genuine as hers – for the first time since they had met (all of his other smiles had been fake ones).

He even said a soft, “Thank you!”

“The food at Cally’s is absolutely delicious!” he agreed with Rynata when Nightshade told them that she wanted something to eat. The delicious food and all the other goodies had been one of the main reasons for his accepting the job there. He normally hated working. Being at Cally’s wasn’t a lot of work though, it was more like an endless stream of opportunities and free food and drinks which was something that he absolutely loved. “Bear jerky though?” he wondered and furrowed his brow. “Did you kill the bear yourself?” he wanted to know, thinking that a bear killer would be a really useful acquaintance to have. In fact, Nightshade might turn out to be just as useful as Rynata (but not as likeable)!

“The Knight’s Rest Inn isn’t far from Cally’s”, he told them. “We’ll be there in no time, and then you can finally get some rest. I can take you there once you are done at Cally’s”, he offered, smiling, mostly not out of the goodness of his heart, but because he had, as always, a lot of hidden motives, most of which were of the questionable kind.

[Nightshade Eld]

"That's was just a joke about a couple of friends," she said to Devin with a light laugh as she shook her head. It was truly said in mostly jest, but the half-breed honestly could believe if it somehow managed to come true. Knowing Noth it might possibly actually happen. It wouldn't be the first annoying or destructive thing her beloved had done. The world seemed to only ever become more and more sour to her if spoken of in tandem with her fellow half-avriel.

The narrowing of the street was a bit less pleasurable for the half-breed than it was for her two companions. The woman was a half-avriel. She lived in the sky. The thin strip of sky and the inability to fully spread her wings was eerie and unnerving. She tried to move a little faster without making her discomfort obviously know, but why the way her wings twitched and brushed against the walls it was obvious she didn't like the place all too much.

The trio began its travel towards Cally's, the conversation continuing with Devin's questions and Rynata's comments."Of course, meals are always better shared with good company," she smiled at the other woman. She then turned towards Devin. "Bear jerky," she said with the slightest of nods and a look of true distaste. "Yeah, I killed the thing alright. And it was without a doubt a pain. I'm something of a fighter for a city. The thing was causing trouble so I got a job to slay it. A big and ugly beast it was," she explained to Devin. Logically she didn't want to put the corpse fo the creature to waste and she'd turned her kill to jerky. She then turned to Rynata.

When they emerged into the more open area she felt herself sigh quietly in relief. Sweet open air. The half-breed nodded along while Devin answered Rynata's next question about how far the inn was. "Would you like to join us for our meal? It wouldn't be very fair for us to eat while you just sat around," she said. "I should have enough nel to cover everyone..." she muttered quietly as she let a hand rest on her chest. She'd taken to wearing her coin purse around her neck so that it was close to her chest and harder to pick her pocket. She was certain that she still had enough nels to handle the costs. Though. Even with how much she'd already spent.

The half-breed started moving towards the building after voicing her offer, pushing open the door to enter.

"Common"

"Ith'ession"