|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2009 10:49 pm
 The caravan had rolled into town. It was just another one of the many that passed through the gates and made it's way with it's fresh goods towards the merchants square. What marked this particular caravan from all the rest however.... Was a black haired, blacked eyed drow standing on his hands on the top of the lead wagon, holding a small box between his feet and grinning like a idiot. The wagons came to a stop, and for a brief moment the boy's body swayed. From below a male voice called out. "He's goin' fall!" To which there was a quick reply. "No he isn't! Hang on Nuu!" Nuumia responded with a sharp laugh. "I'm not going to fall! I'm not going to fall! Ho ha!" The cocky little male exclaimed while correcting the sway of his body. As part of a bit of showing off, he shifted his weight to one hand, and flung the other out to his side. "One hand! One hand! Double points for one hand!" He cheered to himself, and heard scattered laughter from the males pileing out of the caravan wagons to begin unloading the new goods they had brought.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:46 pm
 Haellara strode through the marketplace, trying her best not to look as nervous as she felt. This would be her first time out of the house since her coup d etat in her own House, and she wasn't sure how common a sight her mother had been in the marketplaces. Would anyone seeing her realize the change and try to take advantage of the situation; uprooting the new matron before she takes root? Were there contacts that she was expected to make, and would said contacts get offended and break off if contact wasn't maintained?
Not that it was an attack itself that she feared; her trio of enchanted pendants were snugly in place, and her oldest brother was behind her like an overgrown shadow, balancing his oversized greatsword across his shoulder and glaring at anyone who made eye contact with him for longer than two seconds. At least he and his brothers hadn't been hard; anything that made their house was more powerful was fine by them, and they were already good and used to indulging her merest whim. Though it would have been infinitely more satisfying if all of her brothers were now under her thumb. But one was long gone and the other.....well it was just a matter of time.
Savoring the thought, she approached the marketplace and immediately noticed a caravan with a small male dancing on it's roof. Curious, she made her way closer, her brother moving up to her side and seeing to it that the commoners and lower made way for her. Once she reached the caravan, she pretended to observe the wares being laid out, but her yellow-tinged red eyes kept straying toward the caravan's roof.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:41 pm
This particular caravan really was no different from the others that had already arrived. The small crew all appeared to be male warriors of some sort of calibur, save for one or two that had the different attire of ones being in charge. Many of the males were busy hurriedly unloading the crates and barrels. Only a small handful were distracted with other things. Such as setting up a tent for the main wares and tending to the large lizards that had drawn the wagons in.
Haellara's approch was met by one of the males that was a bit better dressed then the rest. His dark lips cracked into that typical merchants false smile as he motioned for the rest of the crew to hurry and unpack.
"Greetings Lady! I am honored that you would pause here at my modest tent. I apologize that we are not currently set up yet, as we've only just arrived. Are you looking for something in particular? Perhaps I could have the men unpack it special for you eh?"
Amid the men a stoic looking male directed the rest of the cew, his eyes flickered up to Nuumia only briefly whenevre someone would call out to the young male.
"Ohy! Nuu! Hold on! We're nearly done!" One of the males called as he chucked a crate out of a wagon and into the waiting arms of another.
"Ohy! Veirne! Careful with those crates or I'll be chucking your skull into the nearest mound of Lizard mud!" The stoic male called out to the first. The one obviously named Veirne ducked his head.
"Apologies Sir! Won't happen again!" He replied and ducked back into the wagon.
Nuumia remained happily balanceing with his small box on top of the wagon. He had dropped back down to both his hands, and was amuseing himself by walking from side to side.
Another drow made an appearance then. A strapping older male with a axe strapped to his back. With a small grunt he hefted himself up onto the wagon top and began to creep across with a surpriseing show of stealth.
From below a third male called out. "Aye! Yie! No cheating Thalzoz!" He called and turned to point. His cry and gesture was a call for half of the males to stop working and look upwards. Nuumia shifted on his hands to see Thalzoz grinning and approching.
"Yii!" Nuumia cried out as Thalzoz lunged forwards and made a push with his hands...and struck nothing...
Nuumia, seeing the inevitable push, had shifted his hands wide, gripped the box between his legs, and bent his body backwards at both waist and elbow to curve under the expected push. Thalzoz blinked, and reached down to grasp hold of Nuumia's belt, only to have the boy twist to one side, straiten..and nigh nearly run on his hands to the other side of the wagon. "Missed! Missed me Thalzoz! You great big tunnel rat!" Nuumia cheerfully yelled, and was rewarded with a hearty cheer from a few of the males still working below.
"Ohy hurry before he trips up!" One of the working males called to another.
Atop the wagon, Thalzoz began to give chase of the 'running' Nuumia.
"Come back here you little worm! I'll not be loseing half my pay because of you!!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 9:36 pm
Haellara looked sideways at the slightly better dressed male, keeping her disgust for the gender in check; after all, she had come out here to shop as much as get some slightly less stale air. She didn't like trusting anyone else with shopping for the components of her chemicals; it was too easy to mistake the various items for something else, and though she would have welcomed a chance to flay the skin off of a bumbling servant's bones, she delighted even more in the creation of her concoctions and the magical means of strengthening them.
She raised her left hand and deftly snapped her fingers; instantly, her brother/bodyguard was at her side with a piece of parchment. She accepted it and pored over the list, but found herself once more distracted by the scene on the caravan roof. A smile played on her lips, and it was all she could do to take her eyes off of the pair and return them to the male. "I am rather curious; what manner of wares is that young male displaying? Clothes? Potions of quickness?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 10:02 pm
"Young male?" The merchant repeated with a questioning tone. He turned slightly to look over his shoulder, and of course he was able to see the antics being carried on the wagon top. With a small wrinkling of his nose he watched Thalzoz chaseing Nuumia in circles and a zig zag pattern as he attempted to corner the nimble young drow.
"Ah! You mean Nuumia up there. I'm afraid he is not displaying anything Lady. He's currently the source of a bet with the men." The male apologetically responded as he turned back around to face her and give her his attention back. "Now then.... what was it you were looking for?"
Atop the wagon, Thalzoz had finally managed to get Nuumia in a bit of a corner. Spreading his arms wide, he approched slowly. The men below were quickly stacking the crates, huffing and puffing all the way.
Nuumia shifted back a hand step, and for a single, comical moment his hand waved about in mid air. With a small yelp, and a hearty laugh from Thalzoz, he toppled backwards.
"Done!" Came a call from one of the men, after which a small 'thump' was heard as Nuumia finished his topple and hit the ground behind the wagon. Thalzoz stopped his laughing, and peered over the edge.
"Ohy Nuu? You dead?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 10:28 pm
Still smiling up at the pair, Haellara found herself genuinely annoyed that the merchant insisted on diverting her attention from the amusing spectacle. Still, for the sake of presentation she supposed she ought to at least get something, so she glanced at her list. "Hmmm, yes.....have you any Devil's Foot powder?" One of her earliest means of torment, the ash gray powder would emanate a smoky scent when burned that when breathed in caused anything from madness to death. "And once you get to your magical jewelry, I would like to see them also."
Having thus occupied the merchant, Haellara was once more free to observe the fracas on the roof. She saw the young one topple backwards, and curious, she peered over to see if she could catch a glimpse of the small one's body lying on the ground. It would be a genuine shame if he was seriously injured; such a handsome young drow with his jet black hair and large eyes. She was even considering asking if the small one could be counted as a ware, and she would ask a price for him; he had a certain charisma that she found enjoyable. And, spoiled as she was, she had always had an eye for rare and beautiful things.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2009 11:07 pm
The merchant perked up considerably. His red eyes sparkling. "Ah! Yes my lady! I shall see that the wares are brought right out to you immediatly!" Now that he had something to focus on, and something to perhaps sell, he had a quickness to his step as he turned and moved off to where the boxes were stacked.
Thalzoz stood still on the edge of the wagon, peering down at where Nuumia had landed. He had indeed hit the ground, and his small form could be seen sprwaled out on it's back from the angle that Haellara peered.
"Nope!" He quipped after a moment of silence and laying still. Nuumia sat himself up, a wide and large grin upon his black lips. "Did I make it?"
"Nope!" Thalzoz responded.... and was immediatly corrected.
"Nay! The last box was unloaded before he hit the ground! It doesn't count as a fall till he hits!" One of the males responded.
Nuumia looked up at Thalzoz, and then picked himself up as a heated argument erupted between the males who had bet over the validity of his fall.
He wandered around the edge of the wagon, one of his hands lifting to brush through his long hair as the jolly expression faded to be replaced with a more somber one. It seemed like he had started another argument... The stoic looking male who was now overseeing the opening of some crates turned and loosed a bit of a roar.
"Ohy! It won't matter who won what if I dock you all your pay for being lay abouts!" He snapped at the men. That rather ended the argument abruptly, and Thalzoz leapt down from the wagon to land beside Nuu. Reaching over, he smacked the dark haired boy upside the back of the head and jerked his head towards one of the wagons.
"Go an get on with you. You've got lizards to feed Nuu."
"Daw!" Nuumia replied, his hand shifting to rub where he had been smacked. "Can't I trade off another cooking chore? Alte tries to eat me every time I feed him!"
Thalzoz could not help but crack a grin at him. "Well if you didn't look so tasty I'm sure he'd stop. Now get on with you."
Nuumia's face turned downwards for a moment, his nose wrinkling up as he turned about and looked around him. It was now that he spied the merchant that was searching for the items Haellara had asked for, and he scampered over to where he worked on prying open a crate.
"Zelthi! Zelthi! Can I trade off duties with you? I'll do your washing and mending for the week!"
Zelthi began to wave Nuumia off, then paused. "Do you know which crates have the magic trinkets in them Nuu? Help me find them and I'll send one of the other boys over to do the feedings."
Nuu's head bobbed quickly, his face brightening as he turned and bounced off amid the stacked crates. Zelthi turned back and reapproched Haellara. His lips once more smileing as friendly like that he could manage. "We'll have the items here for your inspection Lady in just a moment. Nuu has a uncanny sense when it comes to finding things in unmarked boxes. Eh-heh..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 9:47 pm
Watching the entire spectacle, Haellara kept her eyes fixed on the one the others called Nuumia, continuing to be amused by the other's antics. He wouldn't have lasted a day around her big uncouth brothers; they would either squash him flat by accident (or not) or make him carry around their equipment until the muscles in his arms had turned to slime mold. Such limberness and agility should be put to better use. Dancing perhaps, or something even more entertaining; if the way he moved now was any indication, he would become quite the contortionist and would make some matron mother VERY pleased in the bedroom.
She watched as the merchant supervised the finding of the trinkets, and she took full advantage of the closeness of Nuumia to look him over more thoroughly. She liked what she saw; she even fought to restrain herself from putting forth her hand and feeling his jet black hair. Normally she would have shown impatience at not receiving her Devil's Foot, but she was too busy being distracted by attempting to spot Nuumia among the crates.
Seizing what she felt was an opportune moment, Haellara cleared her throat and gestured to the merchant. "I do believe that young boy of yours has caught my fancy; would you consider parting with him; for a price of course."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:59 pm
Nuumia darted amount the boxes. From time to time he'd pause and give one a look over, then move on. He knew what he was looking for. The boxes with the magical things in them were packed extra carefully, so they had sharper corners and less dents in them then the common goods. It wasn't all that hard for him to find a box that had the well cared for exterior he was looking for. With a grin he bent to lift the box...and grunted under the weight.
There really was a reason Nuumia did not help unload the wagons. He had a tendency to tire after the third box..and he dropped over half of the ones he tried to carry. Gripping this particular box in his arms, he shuffeled back towards the tent. Only the barest hint of his eyes visable over the top of the box as he slowly waddled forwards.
The merchant, Zelthi's smile faltered and fell as Haellara would ask about a price for Nuumia. For a moment his red eyes blinked, and he opened his mouth to correct her..but...he caught himself before potentially getting himself into a bit of trouble. He needed a moment to compose himself, and his smile was forced weakly back into place.
"The lad isn't...ah...mine to sell Lady. He...uhm...isn't a slave. He's just a part of the crew here." Zelthi paused as Nuumiadropped the box behind him, causeing him to jump slightly. Nuu grined rather widely. his onyx eyes nigh well sparkling mirthfully at Zelthi.
"Box." He proclaimed and pointed downwards. Zelthi closed his eyes and surpressed the rise of annoyance he felt at both being startled and talked to in a dim witted manner.
"Yes Nuu, but is it the right one? Did you check it before you carried it over?"
"Ah...." Nuumia started, then with a wide smile and a shrug of his shoulders he honestly replied. "Nope!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:49 pm
"Is that right?" Feeling no tell-tale vibration coming from her lie-detecting pendant, Haellara let out a pointedly drawn-out sigh. "A pity. Had he been yours to sell, I would have certainly made it worth your while." Her eyebrows shot up as she watched Nuumia struggle with the box, then as he admitted happily that he had gone through all that trouble without even bothering to check its contents, she found herself smiling in spite of herself. Such a silly young male; eager to please, and somehow difficult to dislike, despite his obvious inability to think things through.
She focused her gaze directly at Nuu, leaned down slightly, and spoke in a tone that hinted at condescension, as though she were speaking to a not-quite-bright page. "That's okay; I'll be happy to wait here until you find the right box." With that, she straightened up and clasped her hands behind her back, ignoring the obvious fidgeting her brother was doing beside her. Why are you bothering with all of this? he signed once he had caught her attention. We both know there are many other stands that have better selection, and he already said the boy wasn't for sale.
She signed back, her long fingers graceful and precise. Do not concern yourself with my doingd; your job is to look preotective, not guess what your matron is accomplishing. Is that understood? After seeing his sullen nod, Haellara turned back to the stand, genuinely eager to see how Nuumia would react. Would he open the box he had brought up to make sure the requested merchandise was already there? Would he bounce back to the other unsorted boxes and keep bringing them forward without checking? Though he outwardly seemed like the epitome of a dimwit, Haellara wasn't entirely convinced. She wondered whether or not the whole thing was just an act, covering a shrewd and conniving mind, much like her own.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 7:35 pm
Zelthi forced what he hoped seemed to be an apologetic smile for Haellara's sake, though he choose not to say anything more. He did not want to inadvertantly give the female a opening to take advantage of. Though inwardly he was reconsidering his descion as he began to deal with Nuumia.
Nuumia's cheerful little smile faded away as Haellara choose to lean downwards a little and in his direction. Was she aware of the particular shot she was giveing him at the moment? If she wasn't...well...all the better really. Nuumia's black eyes widened and fell as easily to the swaying and flesh revealing gap the way a drop of water from the ceiling might. It was her words that managed to drag his eyes upwards from that place to perhaps a even more dangerouse place to meet. That being Haellara's own eyes. "Really?" He seemed to almost chirp at the female. His lips turned upwards into such a smile that his cheeks seemed to squinch his eyes a little in the corners. "That's quite nice of you Lady. But you won't have to wait. This is definatly the right box." Nuumia assured Haellara while Zelthi shook his head in muted disbelief.
Whatever the merchant was thinking, he kept to himself for the time being. He turned to pry open the top of the box...but Nuumia's hand came down quick upon it. Zelthi blinked and Nuumia turned from looking at Haellara and her cleavage, to hop himself lightly on top of the box.
"Nuumia!" Zelthi snapped at the black haired drow. "Get off the box! How am I supposed to open it with your scrawny rats a** on it?" Nuumia however merely crossed his legs at the knees, and his arms over his chest.
"Lizards." He spoke with that simple tone that he had used when drawing Zelthi's attention to the box he had just dropped behind him. Zelthi blinked his red eyes for a moment at Nuumia, then frowned.
"We don't even know if it's the right box."
"It is." Nuumia replied so confidantly that Zelthi had to surpress an annoyed sigh from escapeing his chest.
"And how would you know that if you never opened it to check?" Zelthi attempted to calmly pursuade Nuu.
"I know because magic makes the back of my head tingle, and it's tingling right now." Nuumia happily replied.
"Nuu..." Zelthi's calm voice turned dead pan. "...you just fell off a wagon and onto your back, hitting your head."
"So?" Nuumia asked with what seemed to be genuine confusion.
Stifeling a small choked curse, Zelthi turned to Haellara, his hands spreading out apologetically as he once again smiled at her. "If you will excuse me a moment Lady? I will return with the powder your seeking as well. I do apologise for all of this inconvience..." With a hasty bow, he turned and made a rather hurried exit of the tent.
Nuumia unfolded his arms as Zelthi left, his head tilting a little to follow the merchant's path just for a few steps before he slipped himself down off the box and turned to open it himself.
"No sense waiting for him to get back! I can't name the prices of the items, but I can at least show you what's in here."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:52 pm
Haellara had indeed been aware of the suggestive view she had offered the young drow; it was one of the reasons she adored such articles of clothing. She needed no reminder to flaunt her advantages if they were already out in the open, in full view of all who would gaze upon them. That and they were less likely to get dirty or stained than regular and elborate clothes.
Her mouth twitched in amusement as Nuumia revealed to her that he had had the right box all along. It confirmed what she had suspected; here was a shrewd little mind in the guise of a simple-minded crew member, seen as half-witted by his peers for whatever reason; his age perhaps, or his diminuitive size; but in reality just as smart as the rest of them, for what it was worth. He was, after all, still a male.
She nodded gracefully at the merchant before turning back to Nuu, waiting for him to begin laying out the trinkets. Perhaps he could help her locate the best and most powerful; she hadn't really meant to buy anything else, but it wasn't as though she didn't have money to burn. The coffers of her house were quite full, thanks in part to her rebellious and maddeningly disrespectful brother. She was in fact in possession of some of the coins and cut gems that had made up part of the spoils of his last known job before he had been made to leave the city. Most of it was upon her guard's person, her own garments insufficient for carrying anything more than parts of her own anatomy, and maybe the occasional coin or scrap of paper.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 3:05 pm
Nuumia dug his fingers into the wooden toggle latch and pushed it aside. With a casual flip he flopped the top back and let it clatter carelessly to the ground. Within the box...was more boxes. Small wooden boxes packed tightly with a dry puce green moss that had a faint earthy scent to it. Nuumia wrinkled his nose for a moment at the dried moss, then reached inside to begin plucking the boxes out one at a time. They were all of uniform size, so that made them easy enough to stack like little oblong bricks...or coffins...onto the table under the tent.
"lets see...let's see..." Nuumia talked to himself as he turned and handed a random box to Haellara. "The Caravan master won't let us mark whats in boxes like these. Say's it's too easy to misplace a valuable box. I suggested he stick random venemouse vermin in the boxes and make the unpackers wear thick hide gloves. No one seemed to like the idea of toteing around mystery crates with irate bugs in them I guess. So we'll just have to open all the boxes to find out what's inside."
Thus informed, Nuumia returned to stacking the boxes on the table. His black eyes drifting back towards the maze of crates that Zelthi had dissappeared into. He could see the well dressed male talking with avid hand gestures to both the stoic male who had directed the unloading of the wagons and Thalzoz.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 4:21 pm
"Indeed," Haellara nodded as she took the box and looked at it skeptically. She thought the idea of venomous creatures had merit, but the constant replacing of them would undoubtedly be too expensive, especially for such a mean, ordinary caravan. Still having them in similar, unadorned boxes was a smart move; it would make it difficult to find just what you wanted, and give no hint at the importance or value of the items therein.
She carefully opened the box and looked at the item sitting prettily on a bed of black cloth; a wand that seemed to be made of delicately hollowed-out bone. The stark whiteness grabbed her attention, as well as the single rough-hewn stone sitting atop the wand, looking like a freshly squeezed drop of blood. She knew it was magical, but she wasn't quite sure what it did. She set it aside and waited for Nuumia to hand her the next box, only to notice his staring off at the crates yet to be unloaded. She could just make out the other two drow, conversing with many a hand gesture; she couldn't tell if they were using the sign or if they were just animated in their discussion.
She leaned in a little bit and spoke to Nuumia in a hushed tone. "I see there's a bit of conversation going on over there that seems to interest you. Are you wondering if it's you they're discussing? That merchant seemed pretty adamant that you were here to stay when I inquired about you....are you afraid that he might change his mind?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 5:41 pm
Nuumias attention remained distracted. Even as Haellara set the box down and he handed over another for her to open. He had enough coordination to be able to hand it to her without being off target at least. Though when she leaned forwards again to speak to him, she once more succeeded in redirecting his attention solely upon herself.
"Change...his mind?" Nuumia echoed Haellara's words with more then a little confusion. He didn't quite understand what it was she meant by his being there to stay. "Here to stay? Ha!" And here his little grin once more returned.
"Half of the crew hopes I'll get lost every time we enter into the city, or that I don't make it back in time for the caravan to move on." His eyes...brightened to a high gloss like shine as he opened one of the boxes he was holding.
"The Caravan master only pays me half wages because I'm not even hired by him to help out. Which is fine really, I wouldn't know what to do with full wages, I just lose it all." As cheerful as his responses were, the happy little light did dim whenever he glanced over at the trio of men..and he could not help the small cringe that crimped his shoulders when Thalzoz looked over and began to approch him.
"Neeeh...I think I'm going to be going in a minute. It was nice meeting you Lady. I hope you find what your looking for."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
