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Nobody Wins; [P] Linesi Eth'ria
Topic Started: Mon Oct 1, 2012 3:05 pm (996 Views)
Shan Orison
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Morning came to Balefire, but only the clocks and the activities of the residents would let you know this. This morning, the sun didn't rise, and the darkness remained. No one was alarmed, since this was typical of the city trapped in the borders between the physical and the shadow. Balefire was eternally in darkness, making such creatures as ghouls, vampires, banshees, and candlemakers very happy residents of this metropolis.

There was a change in the illumination of the city, but it didn't come from the sky. Instead, the windows and streets began to glow brighter from lamps of every make and color. They shone from windows, doorways, streetlamps and strings of lights hanging from eaves and across walkways. The lack of stars in the black void of sky was reflected in reverse on Chaon, with ever shifting constellations from the sentient beings below.

This was the world that Shan Orison, wandering bard, awoke in, his inn room small and dark with drawn curtains and barred windows to block out the shifting lights and sounds from the market downstairs. He awoke to a loud chirping, his auburn hair a tangle and his head red and white from the imprint of stitches on his violin case. He sat up, yawned, and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. On the endtable beside him, beside a pile of potato slices, the noise continued, a large black cricket scraping its legs in rhythm.

"I'm up, I'm up..." Shan yawned, scratching his head. "How early is it, anyway? Ah...who cares...." The cricket chirped more as Shan moved to open the curtains, letting the street lights flood the room. Shan turned to stare at the insect, listening to it chirp. "Oh, wait, hang on. Spell wore off." Shan cupped his hands near his ears and twitched his fingers, whispering an incantation. There was a small popping sound in his ears. "There we go. Go ahead, Cricket."

"When I asked to go into town with you, I never thought you'd be such a lazy layabout," the cricket chirped, its musical noises now understandable to the bard's ears. "When we're in Norwood, you always get up at a reasonable time. What's so different here?"

"You mean sunrise? Well, here, I'm not traveling, I'm working. And people prefer their violin music to wait until at least after lunch. So, I take advantage of that to catch up on my sleep."

"More like letting your true nature shine through. And what's wrong with this place? I know the sun should be up, but there's nothing!"

"That's how Balefire is. You didn't have to come, you know. So stop complaining." Shan brushed his hair as best he could, slipped on his shoes and cleanish clothes, and gathered up his bag and violin. "How about we get some breakfast, then?" Shan asked, lowering a cupped palm to the nightstand.

"More like lunch by now. Hope you can manage to find something that isn't choked with soot."

"We can try, Cricket." With his gatherings and roommate gathered, Shan let the cricket sit up on his shoulder and headed out the door of the inn to the street outside, were several shops and stall were open and hawking for business, those offering food filling the air with savory scents. Shan's stomach growled. He pulled out his coinpurse, counted out his coin, and realized that, very likely, he couldn't get a substantial meal with a few coppers, one of which looked like it'd been used as a chew toy.

Shan sighed, sought out an unoccupied streetcorner, and opened up his case. Within laid a violin, it's finish worn with years of use. Shan lifted it up, leaving the case open at his feet, and began to play. Warm violin music spread through the street as Shan played for his supper.

Lunch, his second thoughts said.

Breakfast, his inner critic said.

Whatever.
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Linesi Eth'ria
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Linesi had been wandering away from her home. She liked her home, but she just wasn't the sort that liked to be in the same place all the time. Life was meant to be filled with new experiences, and these new experiences often meant traveling far from her home village. Not that long ago, she'd heard about a city where the sun never rose. At first, she'd thought she'd never want to visit such a place, but in the end her curiosity got the better of her.

As she walked into the city, it was evening, by her best guess. Linesi found a tavern, where she got herself something to eat and a room to spend the night. When she woke up, it seemed fairly early, judging by how many people were around. She remained in her room for a while with the curtains open. She was in a second story room that overlooked the street, so she was able to see what went on.

However, after a while she decided to go out and actually check out the city. Fortunately for her, she did not get lost easily, as she was good at remembering where she'd gone. This let her wander around the city without any problems, so she started doing just that. From behind, she might look like a drow because of her white hair, but she didn't exactly hide her fair skin, so it was fairly easy to see. The combination made her look somewhat out of place anywhere, but even more so in this place. She carried no visible weapons beyond her dagger, her blade hidden in the form of a drinking flask on her left hip.

As she wandered, she looked around the city, taking in the sights. The City of Lanterns was unlike anything she'd seen before, and as such, she had to see everything. She was making no effort to hide this, so it was probably pretty obvious that she was looking at things and that she was new to the city.

Just then, she heard some kind of music in the distance. This was the first music she'd heard in this city besides in the tavern she'd spent the night in. She headed in the direction of the music, although she took the time to see things. It didn't take her all that long to find the source of the music, however. A young man was playing a violin in a street corner. From what she could see, he was playing for coins. A few copper coins lay near the man, but Lin deemed his performance worth more than the few coins she saw lying there. She walked near the violinist and tossed a couple of silver coins his direction. They landed near him, close enough to be clearly intended for him. She continued to watch as he played, curious as to how he did it.
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Shan Orison
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A few more coins clinked on the ground. Like a few of the ruder or more poorly aimed patrons who tossed their coins on the ground and not in his violin case, these clattered and skipped over cobblestones. Unlike those that came before, however, these coins shone silver, not copper, and that was worth quite a bit of forgiveness.

"Thank you kindly, Miss," Shan said, pausing his music to scoop up the silver and a few of the copper, securing them in his pocket. Now he had enough for breakfast, but as the white haired woman was staying to listen, he was obliged to play for her. It was only right.

Shan readied himself to play once more, but, this time, he didn't fiddle whatever he wished. Instead, he focused and listened. Hanging in the air, between the shouts and echoes of footsteps, the clunk of boxes and the sizzle of meat, there was the sound of music. No one else heard it, of course. There was no actual music being played, but there was always the potential of notes wherever there was a person with a song on their mind. Normally, such a song was trapped in that person's head, playing in the subconscious, but Shan could hear the potential notes as well, and used it to his advantage.

He narrowed his focus to the woman before him, though, listening to the music that echoed in the back of her mind. His bowstring began to move, and he played again, this time playing exactly what she wished to here, whatever it may be. He felt Cricket shift and sit, resigned, on his shoulder, waiting for Shan to finish his bardic duty so they could get moving.

Storyteller
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Linesi Eth'ria
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Linesi was a bit surprised when the violinist specifically recognized her for her donation. However, it did make sense, because as far as Lin could tell, hers were the only silver coins he'd received. His reaction also suggested that he hadn't seen much many coins that weren't copper, immediately picking up the coins and pocketing them.

She wasn't exactly standing right next to the violinist, although she was standing near enough to be clearly visible, she wasn't standing close enough that her presence would get his attention by itself. While she wasn't trying to grab his attention, it was obvious that she had it. She wasn't sure whether it was her donation, her appearance, the simple fact that she was one of the few clearly watching him, or some combination of these, but he was clearly focusing on her specifically. While she was used to stares, she was curious as to the reason.

He started playing again, but the music was not what she was expecting. She could immediately tell that the style of the song was elven. However, it was different from the elven music she was used to, and in some ways unlike anything she'd heard before. Lin was one to enjoy new experiences, and this applied to music as well. She'd been halfway considering leaving, but she just had to hear this song he was playing. She had to admit that she liked the song better than anything she'd heard before.

She was intrigued by the fact that a human performer knew elven music, completely unaware that an ability existed for him to play what she wanted. Lin figured that he'd chosen to play an elven song because she was obviously elven and figured that he'd learned it from some elves.

When he finished the song, Lin walked forward and tossed another silver coin his way, this time actually hitting his violin case, though barely, even though she was so close that most people wouldn't have any trouble hitting it. The previous misses had been her poor accuracy with throwing, not intended as any sort of disrespect. She was accurate with her magic missiles and orbs of ice, but she couldn't throw to save her life. She wanted to give him a gold coin, but she didn't have a lot of money at the moment, mainly a result of not looking for work. She knew how to place enchantments on weapons, which tended to be worth good money, but she wasn't always motivated.

After getting the coin into the performer's violin case, she walked up to him and said, "I wouldn't have expected a human violinist to be able to play elven music, but you played quite well. I haven't heard a song quite like that. Also, my name is Linesi. What's yours?" Lin had a number of questions she wanted to ask, but she waited for him to reply first.

OOC
 
You said he played exactly what she wanted to hear, so I had a bit of fun running with that. I hope you don't mind. :)
Edited by Linesi Eth'ria, Thu Oct 11, 2012 3:51 am.
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Shan Orison
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"My name is Shan," Shan said, smiling both at her warm words and the demonstration that her earlier throws were the result of poor aim, not derision. "I've heard music from all around during my travels. I felt that song might lift your spirits. I'm glad I was right."

She was a rather odd elf simply in her paleness. The elves he was most familiar with were the silvan ones native to the forest, with dark hair and skin to match their forests, and the drow of the Underdark, with hair as white as Linesi's but skin as dark as the shadows. There was also his friend, Dali, but Dali was half elf and had no hair to speak of.

He gave her a small bow. "I'm also glad to hear you enjoyed my playing. If a bard could live on compliments, he most gladly would, since there's nothing better to warm the heart."


That is overly flowery, don't you think?

Considering all the coin she's given, Critic, she deserves it, said his common sense, his inner bard more than happy to be appreciated by an elf, a race known to spend several human lifetimes to perfect a song. A compliment from them was worth quite a bit.
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Linesi Eth'ria
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Linesi listened as the bard introduced himself as Shan, and she smiled back at him. She wasn't much good with any instruments, but she did enjoy listening to music on occasion. It had been a while since she'd heard anything elven, but she'd heard enough, especially during her childhood, that she easily recognized the style. It wasn't often that she heard humans playing elven music, and when they did, it sometimes sounded like a poor imitation. Shan wasn't the first human she'd heard play elven music well, but there weren't very many.

Shan definitely seemed appreciative of Lin's compliments, as well as her donations. He seemed like a decent enough sort.

"I guess that's why you play for donations. Compliments are nice, but they don't feed you. I'm no bard, but I can relate to difficulties with money, though some of the time it's probably my fault."

Lin knew that she should be a bit less generous at times, but a part of her couldn't hold back, especially when the other people needed the money more than she did. At the moment, while Lin didn't have a lot of money lying around, she easily had enough to get by, even after donating some to Shan.
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Shan Orison
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"I know that problem. I tend to lose track of money easily, as well." Shan said it with humor, but it wasn't exactly true. He didn't grow up dealing with money much, so he didn't value it enough to hoard it. He'd earn it in town and worked to spend it before he left. Supplies and food were far more valuable in Shan's eyes. In small villages and travel inns, he'd usually play for a meal and a place to sleep. Money was for cities.

Before Shan could think of something else to say, his stomach let out a loud, rumbling growl. Shan blushed, instinctively placing a hand over his abdomen in a failed attempt to stifle it. "Heheheh, and now you see what has me out and playing for coin. Um, if you want, I can help you feel better about handing out so much coin to a musical beggar by treating you to some sort of breakfast. Or lunch, if you've eaten breakfast already."
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Linesi Eth'ria
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Apparently Shan also had some trouble with money. Whether the issue was not getting a lot of it or just spending too much (or getting it stolen, for that matter), it was an understandable problem. For Linesi, earning money generally wasn't all that difficult when she put her mind to it, but her main problem was spending on the wrong things. Arguably, donating to the bard was justified, but it could also be considered a poor use of money.

Regardless, this bard had just invited her to eat breakfast, after being prompted to mention something about eating by the rumbling of his stomach. Lin had eaten a light breakfast, so this would be more of an early lunch for her. Normally, she wouldn't have eaten until a couple of hours later, but she decided to accept his invitation and see where he would take her.

"Sure, I'll eat with you, if you're sure you can spare the money. Thank you." She smiled at him, and when (if) he started moving, she walked with him.
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Shan Orison
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"I'm sure I have enough for two meals," Shan said with a smile. He knelt down to secure his violin in its case. "And I'm able to make more if I need to, as you can see. It just means a bit more time playing, which I don't mind."

"Urg," Shan heard chirped in his ear. "I don't really need to see human mating rituals, thank you."

"Wha-it's not like-" Shan began to protest, but stopped short as the cricket on his shoulder leapt into the inner recesses of his violin, and he realized that the elven woman would have no idea that he was talking to a bug and not to her. He straightened up quickly, locking his violin case close and laughing uncomfortably.

"I...I mean, it's not like it's too difficult to get enough money to live on, especially if your aspirations aren't that high. Like, now, my aspirations are for some lamb brisket sandwiches. I know a cart nearby that sells that. They're delicious. Of course, if you want something else, I'm open to anything that isn't still moving."
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Linesi Eth'ria
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Linesi waited as Shan packed up his violin. He was quick to assure her that he had enough money, and that it wasn't difficult to come by for him. She hadn't been attempting to dissuade him, but just making sure that he need not feel obligated to feed her since she'd given him money. She knew well, however, that there were other reasons why he would take her someplace for lunch. He wasn't the only one, either, though so far she hadn't met anyone that actually interested her. This wasn't to say that she wouldn't enjoy having a meal with him. She would enjoy the meal and the company, and most likely the conversation, but at this point, she wasn't interested in more than that.

Lin did notice that something jumped from his shoulder into his violin case. She didn't, however, make the connection between that and what she assumed was stuttering because of nervousness. He definitely wouldn't be the first to act somewhat nervous around her. She wasn't one to judge him for it, but she did find it somewhat amusing. As far as she knew, he might not even have been aware that something had jumped into the case.

"Lamb brisket sandwiches sound good to me. Also, I'm not sure if you noticed, but some kind of insect--a cricket, perhaps?--jumped into your violin case before you shut it."

Lin traveled fairly often, and she enjoyed trying new things, a preference that applied to food as well as other things, so she'd tasted a good variety of foods. However, she didn't recall eating lamb brisket sandwiches in the recent past, and for her, that was a reason to have one. Also, when she was going out for a meal with someone, she considered it more polite to go with his choice of food, unless she was directly asked.
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Shan Orison
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"Really?" Shan asked, trying for nonchalance. "Well, he should be fine in there. I'll let him go when we're not in a busy street." He swept his arm, hand open. "Shall we?"

Shan led her through the Balefire streets, weaving through the crowds and the smells of several other foodcarts, each either with a hawker trying to draw you in, or quiet proprietors certain their food would sell itself. The lamb briskests were at a cart with a decorative tarp canopy, the owner occasionally calling out his wares, but his heart seemed far more focused on caramelizing onions.

Shan ordered two brisket sandwichs, each small, split loaf filled with not only the promised lamb smothered in a specialty sauce, but caramelized onions, grilled sweet peppers, mushrooms, and some sort of sliced root that had a delicious earthy flavor, but Shan never managed to work up the courage to ask what they were. After all, he was only guessing they were tubers. He also got two cups of sweet tea the man sold and led them over to a standing table that was more a waist high pole set in the ground with a small round top large enough for drinks, but little else.

"Dig in," Shan said, putting his drink down and lowering his violin from his shoulder to rest against the table. He followed his own advice, and quickly dug out his handkerchief. He'd forgotten how messy these could be, even though the lamb itself seemed to melt in his mouth and the onions and pepper added a sweet and savory counterpart to the slightly spicy sauce. He wiped his mouth with his kerchief, clearing his lips of sauce. "Sorry, I guess this isn't the most genteel meal."
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Linesi Eth'ria
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Linesi allowed Shan to lead her through the busy streets and market area. As she had been before, she was looking around, trying to see everything that this city had to offer. She took advantage of the fact that Shan was leading her to look away from where they were going and pay more attention to everything else. She saw merchants hawking their wares. It seemed that between all of the merchants, they were getting close to selling everything that could possibly be sold in that manner. In a few cases, Lin wanted to get closer to take a better look, but she also didn't want to be rude to Shan.

Before long, Shan reached the food cart he was looking for and ordered food for both of them. When Shan handed Lin her sandwich and cup of tea, she smiled at him and thanked him. Once they were at the table, Lin set down her drink and started to see about eating the sandwich. She could tell pretty quickly that it might be difficult to eat it without getting any of it on her robe, which was an ankle-length, flowing garment with arms that flared out quite a bit. It wasn't exactly designed for eating messy food in. However, Lin did have a handkerchief on her, so she placed it over the top part of her robe, tucking a bit in at the neckline to keep it from falling.

With some care, she managed to eat the sandwich while at the same time keeping the mess contained to her handkerchief. She didn't notice, however, that some sauce had hit her robe near the bottom. Messiness aside, the food was quite delicious, though next time she would have to either wear more practical clothing or find a place to properly sit down. She didn't comment on his remark about the messy nature of the meal, though if he was watching her, he likely noticed that it was taking some care to avoid getting her clothes dirty.
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Shan Orison
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Shan stepped away from the tabletop as the two of them finished of their meal. He noticed Linesi had tucked a handkerchief into her outfit to keep most of the dripped sauce off, but he hadn't noticed that it failed a bit in its duties, and there were spots of reddish brown from sauce that evaded the cloth and landed on the hem of her dress.

"Oh, I'm sorry!' Shan said, stooping down without thinking to dab at the spots with his kerchief, trying not to rub the sauce into the fabric and make the stain worse. He jerked as he suddenly realized what he was doing and shot back up."Sorry! Um...I guess I should have thought through my dining choice a bit more." Shan's eyes darted about, trying to find someplace to settle as he blushed. "It should come out if you soak it in water for a while...Sorry." He hastily shoved his kerchief back in its pocket, finally settling on staring at his dusty boots.
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Linesi Eth'ria
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As Linesi was finishing up her food, she watched Shan stoop down. He touched the bottom hem of her robe with his kerchief. She wasn't sure what he was up to until she noticed that some of the sauce from her sandwich had hit her clothing near the bottom edge. Since she knew what he was trying to do, she couldn't exactly judge him for trying to clean her clothes, although obviously it made for a somewhat awkward situation for him. He was quick to apologize for both the messy meal and for what could be taken as acting inappropriately.

Linesi laughed and said, "This isn't the first time I've gotten one of my robes dirty with food. That's one of the downsides of liking to wear long robes and dresses. I suppose I shall just have to clean it again."

Lin was attempting to pull Shan out of his embarrassment. It was fairly obvious that Lin was not at all angry with him. It took more than that to get Lin angry, even if it was a somewhat awkward situation for her.
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Shan Orison
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"Oh, I guess that's true, Shan said, wringing his kerchief in his hands. "I mean, wearing something like that outside, it probably gets covered with a lot of mud and grime. Not that I shouldn't have picked something neater to eat like..." Shan looked around them at the various stalls and carts selling, greasy, saucy foods served onna stick, onna bun, or onna thin paper plate that was usually inferior to a slice of bread. "Um, I guess that there's no better alternative on the street food level."

He shifted the wringing motion into a wiping motion of his hands, then placed the kerchief back in his pocket. "So, um, I should probably let you get to....wherever it is you're getting to. If you want, I walk you there, if that would make you feel safer, though I guess I understand if you say otherwise." Shan put on a grin. It felt a bit forced.

Man, are you getting flustered by her, his inner critic said. You realize how awkwardly silly you look right now?
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