• Graded • Uncharted Territory

[Dmitri]

Timestamp: 2nd of Ymiden, Hot Cycle, Arc 716

Having arrived here in Etzos, at the very beginning of the Rebirth Cycle this arc, Dmitri knew several locations, nearby the Southwestern Citizen Housing area, by heart now. Even so, when someone gives him a combination of numbers, and a letter, when he asks for directions inside Etzos, always gets batted back in exactly the same manner. With a stretched arm: "That direction, right?!" A cleverly formed question that only the most foolhardy ones can reply in any other method than yes or no, rather than give him directions as if he were a crazed mathematician who can only speak in algebra tongue. Whilst rather effective when needing to go further than his memory can take him, Dmitri was getting fed up with the patronizing looks shot at him. He figured there had to be an easier way to get around the bustling urban jungle of Etzos.

He could ask his master, Vasily Alexis, for assistance or guidance. But lately he has been getting the impression that his master was growing weary of tutoring Dmitri; Something that had to be remedied at all costs, considering he was Dmitri's only current entry & information point of the Seekers! Last thing he wanted to do is come off as a brain-dead oaf who can't even take care of himself. So, he set course into the city to, as ironic as it may be, ask directions to the nearest shop that sells maps, or even a damned cartographer for hire! 'Of course...' When Dmitri wants to go for a private stroll in the midst of the dark night, the streets are more packed than a box of sardines. When he wants to find someone to ask a question, he's the last man on Idalos. 'Curses!'

Silver lining, when you just want to find a person to ask directions, you don't need to know where you're really going, so he just started walking. After a short bit, he found a guard and quickly sped up his pace towards the man who almost seemed inclined to take hold of his weapon when he noticed Dmitri speeding up to him. Quickly waving his hand and smiling, awkwardly, hoping the I Don't Mean You No Harm, Please Don't Kill Me-sign was processed correctly by the guardsman. As it was, the man didn't slash Dmitri's throat when he stood in front of him, with a sigh of relief he greeted the man politely and asked if there was any place he could buy a map of Etzos near-by, explaining the man that he was fairly new in town. The guard smiled and nodded in comprehension, apparently a fairly quick thinker as he exclaimed: "I'm guessing giving you the coordinates wouldn't do you much good, ha ha. You're in luck though, my guard-duty at The Great Parhn Gate is starting soon, not far from the shop you seek. Come, I'll take you there."

After thanking the man gratefully, Dmitri walked alongside the guard in whatever direction The Great Parhn Gate, and shop, was. The guard seemed like a social guy, he couldn't stop talking and asking questions. Normally Dmitri would be on guard, quick to answer vague and blunt in these circumstances, but the man seemed like a genuinely nice guy so Dmitri spun tall tales of where he came from, why he was here and how his journey to Etzos had been. Even in this carefree situation, Dmitri was a well-trained and natural liar, making sure he didn't say anything out of bounds nor anything suspicious. Weaving threads of truth in the web of lies, he made sure not to speak of anything he didn't know well enough to be certain the man could smack it right back in Dmitri's lying face. As they went on their merry way, time flew and before they knew it, they were already at The Great Parhn Gate.

[Dmitri]

It took Dmitri a moment to realize The Great Parhn Gate wasn't his desired destination, the guard had come to the same conclusion apparently as he excessively apologized to Dmitri for his lack of focus on the way here, he had walked without thinking as he was having such a fun conversation with Dmitri. Smiling and waving the apologies away, Dmitri assured the guard that there was nothing to be concerned about. "After all, you told me the store was near the gate. I'm sure I'll find it from here!" The guard gave Dmitri one last apology and, for him, comprehensible directions. "Look, if you straight down here, into the city, you will reach a wall, follow that wall to the right until you find the very first passage opening on that specific wall, walk through it and on the left-hand side you will find the store! Can't miss it!"

"Thank you for your kindness, guardsman! I hope we'll run into eachother some other time again! Take care!"

With that said, Dmitri took off with the directions of the guard in mind. Walking in the direction the guardsman pointed at, Dmitri mulled over the few steps of the make-shift map in his mind, first things first, he had to keep walking until he basically slammed into a wall. It was difficult to get this part wrong, the wall was visible to Dmitri even from his starting position. As soon as he arrived, he turned right and passed houses, guards, people and pets without even glancing at them, all he was interested in was the wall-opening he had to find and walk through. As he passed a smaller gate than the Great Parhn Gate, his mind wandered and figured it was probably some sort of gate to keep civilians secured in the center of Etzos, while the guards fought on the outer rims, if ever Etzos was to get sieged. As Dmitri's morbid sense of thinking escalated into wondering what it would be like to starve under siege, what mankind would be capable of under that type of pressure and situation...It was a bleak and grim thought, one that almost made Dmitri miss the opening in the wall he was supposed to traverse. 'Damn it!!'

Dmitri turned 90° to the left and marched quickly through, trying to remember which side the shop was supposed to be on, that's when he noticed the board hanging sideways over a doorway. "Smarter Charts"

[Dmitri]

Breathing a sigh of relieved accomplishment, Dmitri walked towards the store and wondered what maps they would have apart from the one in Etzos, he had no idea about the amount of people working for the Smarter Charts' owner 'Zefleran Folorie' and all he saw was a relatively standard-sized store. In his mind, Dmitri presumed the Smarter Charts to sell maps of Etzos and its surroundings, exclusively, maybe with some free pamphlets thrown in and such, like a sort of Information Point. Maybe they would even try to weasel him into some form of tour. Going through Etzos, hearing about all its history, key points and figures, didn't sound all that bad to him though! Especially considering it was all more than valuable information in his case.

Already mentally prepared to refuse any pamphlets and ask about a guided tour along with the city map, he entered the Smarter Charts. A dangling ornament with many cylindrical, thin and hollow, metal pipes served as an effective near-musical notification that a prospect customer has arrived at the store. Shutting the door behind him, Dmitri took a look-see at all the different types of maps in the showcases spread around the store. He wasn't knowledgeable about this subject in the least, but he could still see varying degrees of detail put into the maps. Additionally he was astonished by the sheer amount of maps present, a lot of them were about regions he only knew about by name and little more. He wondered how Zefleran Folorie had managed to get these maps crafted in this high-end form. Steadily making his way from showcase to showcase, towards the counter, Dmitri forced his eyes from an especially beautiful map and greeted the person behind the counter, patiently awaiting the customer to focus his attention to her. "Hello, how may I be of assistance?" A standard merchant greeting but the young woman had a lively and kind feel to her, making it a lot less impersonal than Dmitri would have probably otherwise perceived it.

"I'm looking for a, detailed, map of Etzos, please." Emphasizing the word Detailed more than he actually meant to, It almost sounded like he was criticizing the maps in the showcases he had just looked at. Apparently he wasn't the only one who felt that way as a peculiar being approached the woman from behind and told her he'd take it from here. The being looked and acted like a man of stature and some sort of prestige, but his skintone gave away that he wasn't even exactly a 'man', not in the humanoid sense of the word at least. He was one of the Eidisi, if Dmitri guessed correctly. Not that it mattered a great deal to him as he isn't opposed to any being or race, unless given adequate reason to. "The name is Zefleran, the owner, how can I help you?"

[Dmitri]

Dmitri had enough social and people skills to effortlessly differentiate between a kind offer to assist someone, with the type of 'help' Zefleran seemed to offer, it didn't phase him in the least as the link to his emphasis on the word 'detailed' being wrongly interpreted, was quickly made. Dmitri didn't feel the need to beat around the bush or watch his words around a storekeeper, no matter how he carried and conducted himself. This of course didn't mean he was going to be rude or throw down with the man, especially since he saw value in keeping the man within reach, at the very least for maps and more info on Etzos' locations and surroundings. "My apologies, I have a feeling my words were carelessly chosen and misinterpreted to boot. I'm Dmitri and I simply seek a detailed layed out map of Etzos; Emphasizing the word Detailed was actually intended to be a compliment considering I saw an extremely high level of detail in all the maps, yet in some even more than in others."


Dmitri spoke calmly without any hostility nor submissiveness in his tone of voice, he simply explained the matter at hand without leaving things in the vague. It would have only lead to miscommunication, hostility and friction between the customer and storekeeper. The storekeeper didn't actively react to Dmitri's run-down on what just occured and why he was here, except for a more relaxed facial expression and stance. The only acknowledgment the composed man provided Dmitri was a simple "I see." However, the vibe in the store seemed instantly a lot less tense, and Zefleran proceeded to invite Dmitri to his office, located in the store's back-end. Presuming it was there that his most detailed charted maps were stashed, Dmitri followed the man quietly, letting his senses take over as he could almost taste the mixed scent of fresh and old parchment throughout the building. As soon as they arrived at his tidy and classy personal office, Zefleran invited him to take a seat on a burgundy leather couch. "I have a map of Etzos for you, detailed in both legend and chart. Just wondering though, why would you want to such a map? It doesn't come cheap after all, naturally." Zefleran's eyes staring at Dmitri were inquisitive and, for lack of a more appropriate word, suspicious.

It came out fairly naturally, without tonguetwisting or awkward pauzes, but behind the scenes, Dmitri's mind raced hard and fast; How to act, how and what to say, how he had been dumb enough not to think of this scenario before-hand. Dmitri blinked and frowned slightly as he took in the inquisitive look on blunt mister Zefleran. Raising his shoulders and gesturing with his hands as if to say 'Why not?'

"I only recently arrived in Etzos and well, to be honest, I have no clue how to understand the directions the locals keep giving me when I ask them where something is located. It made sense to me to get a good map and with that map, analyze and finally learn how the coordinates here are calculated, ha ha."

Zefleran did not respond.

[Dmitri]

After a very brief moment of silence, Zefleran smiled sheepishly and nodded in comprehension and acceptance of Dmitri's explanation as to why he wanted such a detailed chart of Etzos' city. Raising a finger to indicate he'd be right back, Dmitri could only hope that he didn't leave the office to go get a guard nearby...It didn't take long for Zefleran to return but it took all of Dmitri's discipline and faith in good fortune, not to immediately ask what he had gone to do. Remaining in a semi-relaxed, semi-pondered state; To imitate a person who has just been asked something odd, straight out of the blue; He turned his face when he heard the door behind him open and close, seeing only Zefleran, with a rolled up, stringtied parchment in his hands. 'Thank heavens!' Dmitri smiled as he turned his attention back to the desk and skillfully wood carved chair before him.

Al though he did his best not to show any hints of dismay or worry, he did feel those, especially since Zefleran acted like what he had just asked in such a skeptic manner, never occurred. Dmitri was about to let it be and hope for the best, when he remembered he had been blunt and up-front at the start of their meeting, at the store's counter...He opted out of confronting the man considering he had already explained the reasoning behind it, showing he was still worrying so much about what just happened, would only give the impression that it lingered in Dmitri's mind. Assumptions would be made, and most likely none would be beneficial or positive for Dmitri. So he simply smiled and accepted the map gratefully, thanking Zefleran for the great service as he inspected the map, complimenting him on the masterful charted city and detail put into it.

"With pleasure, don't forget to pay on your way out though, ha ha." Zefleran spoke amicably and warm, but Dmitri had to repress his worry, still stuck in his mind and body, almost to the point that he felt his limbs shake slightly. After saying goodbye to Zefleran, Dmitri went to the front of the store, paid the 15 GN for the, Highly Detailed, Etzos City Map at the counter and quickly walked home, making a mental note to keep an eye out the next few days for any lurkers, recurring guardsman faces or anyone that was suspicious to Dmitri, in any way or form! Sighing, he walked towards his house while unravelling the stringed parchment and following the map, effortlessly arriving at his home. His plan to keep Zefleran close had morphed in only visiting that man ever again, when absolutely needed. He wondered how Vasily would have reacted if he had been in the office with them. Tensing his face and jaw, he could only imagine Vasily leaving that office, locking the door and bailing from Etzos before anyone found his and Zefleran's corpses...

[Maltruism]

Come and get your Loot!

(There's plenty more where that came from)

DMITRI SARATOV:

Skills:

• Acting +2
• Appraisal +1
• Cartography +1
• Detection +2
• Etiquette +3
• Interrogation +1
• Intimidation +1
• Navigation +2
• Persuasion +2

Knowledges:

• Basic
  • "Dmitri's Law" of Crowded Streets
  • Etzos Location: 'Smarter Charts'
  • NPC: Zefleran Folorie, proprietor, 'Smarter Charts'
  • Poorly Phrased Questions Lead to Presumption
  • Presumption Leads to Poorly Phrased Questions
  • Race: Eidisi
  • Wind Chimes as Door Bells
• Specific
  • Zefleran Folorie: Friend or Foe?
  • Zefleran Folorie: Oddly Reluctant to Make a Sale
  • Zefleran Folorie: Suspicion is Suspicious

Loot:

Highly detailed Map of Etzos - cost of 15gn

Injuries:

None

Comments:

Kudos for showing Folorie to be somewhat guarded in his behavior. It suggests that you read up on him.
Mods will always appreciate that...lol
If you are planning on having trouble come from this Eidsi's direction, just let me know, as he does have connections I would want to conform to.
I gave you Interrogation on the basis that being subjected to it makes you learn more about it as well.
Etiquette as always when you need to quickly learn how to behave to achieve your ends.
Cartography simply because the map made it so much easier to get around that you clearly, if subconsciously, gained a fundamental understanding of what makes a map helpful and readable.
PM me with any comments or concerns