Thousandth Life

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Edgebabby
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Marakit, while being the capital city of Umitsa, would not be considered as such a high ranking place by those who came from other regions of the world. Someone along the ancestry line of his current majesty, Sir Galdt Jespersen, and also predecessor on the throne, had made the decision to divide the settlement into different districts for the sake of keeping stinky forges and other difficult industries away from more residential areas. It was something that gave Marakit a rather unique pattern in the known world, but it hardly helped disguising the dilapidated state things generally were in. The ongoing war on both sides of the kingdom had not only left its military comparably powerless, but also helped to keep its economic welfare at a minimum. There was no real access to major ports left, nor was there a way to import food and other goods in substantial quantities if the own fields couldn't provide those. People had become relatively used to the occasional starvation, even though in Marakit those were bearable. Things were worse in those regions that were more remote and less important, maybe even close to the frontlines or the beaten roads foreign troops marched on. It wasn't as if those would exhibit a particular degree of respect for 'neutral parties'. Not as long as those could provide them with additional resources.

Judging by Ratharyn himself however one would probably not have imagined any of those things to be true. Years of careful treatment and some alchemistic knacks had left his clothes, a thick woolen shirt and trousers, in mint condition. They almost were the only source of somewhat pure white in the entire room. The man was also well fed, intimidatingly tall and equally broad-shouldered. The wooden floorboards creaked loudly beneath his boots with every of his steps. The small-ish place was both laboratory and point of sale, the two functions merely devided by a wooden counter in between. Here he busied himself with keeping his inventory lists up to date and the numerous glass vials clean. Nobody wanted to buy stuff to try and mend his minor ailments if said stuff was dirty in the first place. A simple cloth and a little effort could make a significant difference -- and of course such tools could make the wait for customers a lot less boring.

Today noone had paid a visited yet and it was already late afternoon. It wouldn't be long until Ratharyn would decide to lock the place down for the day. Once the sudden appearance of shoppers had been ruled out he'd have the silence and concentration needed to put his mortar and pestle, calciner and destillator into action and fabricate new stuff, maybe even make new inventions. So he did almost every day as long as there were enough supplies left -- and in the recent months the war had made those run short as well. Altogether it was fair to say that his expectations for his own future had deteriorated significantly over the past year. He might just be running out of his luck slowly, but steadily.
 
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Dressed in patched brown burlap clothes, dark hair looking as though he'd hacked hit off a handful at a time with a knife, Kallist blended in almost perfectly with the waves of poor and desperate who were making their way into Marakit. The guards didn't even spare him a second glance, pegging him as one of the fortune seekers, come to the city in hopes of getting enough money to purchase food for the family, who would be driven out at dusk by the royal patrol to keep the city streets from being overrun by the homeless. Even if he'd been a foreign soldier or criminal, there was no way he'd be able to hide a weapon under his threadbare clothes.

Blended into the crowd, Kallist walked with a slight limp, not enough to draw anyone's attention, just enough to add a faint falter to his step and make him look that much less threatening. However, as soon as he was through the checkpoint, the man peeled away from the rest of the crowd, vanishing into a dark alley. The limp vanished immediately, replaced with a low, smooth stride more reminiscent of a cat or wolf than a farmer or peasant.

Kallist wound his way through the maze-like alleyways of the city without a trace of hesitation, before finally stepping out onto a near-empty street. His eyes immediately locked onto a small storefront, tucked in between a tailor's store and an empty building that looked like it had belonged to a jewelcrafter in better times. The little shop showed the same signs of dilapidation as the rest of the city, the wood siding browned and slightly cracked from age and neglect, but the front porch was cleanly swept, and the lone glass window was both intact and clean.

Kallist paused outside the front door, taking a slow, deep breath as he studied the entryway. He'd made this introduction 83 times at this point, had worked it down to all but a science, but this was still an important moment for him. He'd spent the last two months preparing for it, gathering enough gold to make even one of Umitsa's nobles drool with envy, while also making sure he was physically capable of handling the large man inside the store should it prove necessary. However, if he made a mistake, if Ratharyn formed an unfavorable impression of him and refused to help, then Kallist would have to resort to much cruder methods to secure his assistance, and that would complicate everything.

Closing his eyes briefly, Kallist forced himself to relax. It was fine. He would deal with it if something bad happened. Besides, this was exactly his thousandth life. That had to give him some extra bit of good luck.

With those thoughts, Kallist pushed his way in through the door, setting off the small bell that hung over the frame. "Looks like things are fairly slow," Kallist said by way of greeting. His eyes scanned briefly over the shelves, before turning to study the large, blonde haired man. "You must be Ratharyn. I got your name from Ganvar. I have a business proposition for you. If you aren't too..." Kallist glanced playfully around the empty store. "Busy, that is."
 
Ratharyn had been busy putting a few vials back into a carefully arranged, small wooden frame that was standing on one of the numerous shelves. The moment Kallist entered his humble home and made the bell ring though the giant almost dropped the alchemistic items. The stuff still in his hands and with his heart beating a lot faster than just a moment ago he turned around on his heels in order to face the newcomer. However it wasn't though as if Kallist had come in uninformed it seemed...

"What ? Proposition ? Who are you ?" Ratharyn's tone was not necessarily unfriendly, but he also was quite frank in terms of skepticism. This guy's approach didn't seem to be anywhere near that of any ordinary customer. "Ganvar hasn't told me anything about someone asking about me. So would you please be so kind to tell me your name first before we do anything out of the ordinary business ?"

While waiting for an answer, Ratharyn took the liberty to scrutinize the newcomer a little. At least at first glance Kallist appeared not to be rich in any way: The clothing looked as if having been patched together here and there while the hairs on his head were such a complete loss that even the cheapest barber he knew of would have done better. If it hadn't been for Kallist's very clear and unusual words the moment he had entered his small business, Ratharyn most likely would have dismissed him as one of the many poor, more or less homeless young people that roamed around on the streets. An orphan, a beggar, whatever...

With this kind of introduction Kallist had pulled off however the man had Ratharyn's full attention. The latter clearly was waiting for an answer as he slowly put away the vials and crossed his more than thigh-sized arms in front of his mighty chest.

@Peregrine
 
"Kallist DuNarris," the dark haired man replied immediately, sketching in a half bow that might have resembled a noble's greeting if it hadn't been performed so sloppily.

In addition to his clothes and his hair, Kallist's name was another perfect indication of his lack of apparent status. Nobles had long since earned the right to bear a family name, and craftsmen and other skilled workers had gained the right around the time the crafting guilds had risen in power. However, for those who lived in small villages, bound to the land where they were born, there was no need, and no chance, for them to earn a surname. Instead, they carried the name of their village with them wherever they went. Any time Kallist fully introduced himself, others would know he bore no honor other than being "from Narris".

However, at least when it came to Kallist, judging a book by its cover would become a critical mistake.

As though to prove it, Kallist grabbed a small bad that hung from the front of his belt, tossing it onto the counter near Ratharyn. It landed with the distinctive clatter of coins from within the coarse fabric. If he looked inside, Ratharyn would find five gold coins and two smaller silver ones nestled together inside the small pouch.

"That's 20% payment up front," Kallist continued calmly, even though he knew full well that the amount of money inside that bag was more wealth than Ratharyn would typically see in a month. "I require an alchemist to accompany me on a journey, to collect and process a few specific and delicate ingredients that cannot be transported from where they are growing. Unfortunately, between the war and the location, it is not going to be an easy journey. I require someone..." One of Kallist's brows lifted slightly. "Sturdy enough to survive the trip. That's where you come in."
 
Upon hearing the name 'Kallist DuNarris', Ratharyn was hardly impressed. Yes, be his way of entering his small business strange or not, the man in front of him did not appear to be anyone else than what his clothes already indicated him to be: A peasant, a simple soldier, a local village's blacksmith maybe though that job would have made him look more muscular. Somebody of very insignificant importance if one looked at the large scope of things. Yet Ratharyn's business was anything but said large scope and he was perfectly aware of that, so an inhabitant of Narris would receive the same amount of patience and care Ratharyn tried to give to every of his customers.

The only problem was that Kallist did not even give him the opportunity to do just that... Even before Ratharyn's gigantic fingers put the knot holding the upper end of the small sack together apart his heart had started to step up its pace. That solid sound of the small pouch's impact on the counter had been all too forboding about what was inside, but still actually seeing the unique color of gold shining in the light of his few humble candles was a thrilling experience. It changed a lot, but also helped to put Ratharyn's senses to a higher level of alertness. Putting together that five times that much would equal about half a year of hard work it became clear that this was way beyond unusual.

Kallist would possibly feel Ratharyn's eyes staring at him as the latter listened to what he had to say. "A journey ?" he asked, buying himself a little more time to think. "And you need an escort who is also capable of alchemy ? Well..." Ratharyn slightly bit his lips, then sucked in air through his mouth and a gap so small that it created a hissing noise. "I feel honored. I assume you have already asserted that I also have the alchemistic capability to process what you need at the scene ? If that's the case we probably shouldn't wait too long."

Normally Ratharyn would not have given in that easily, but unlike someone giving mere promises Kallist had already proven that he could deliver payment. Where he had it from ? Unknown. There was reason to suspect that DuNarris was not Kallist's true name after all. Maybe he was a noble clever enough to make himself not appear as such in order to avoid the series of typical difficulties. If one considered that a noble traveling with a giant would attract even more attention that idea actually was very proactive.

"If you are ready I will need a few hours to get ready myself. We need plenty of water and food that won't perish while we are underway, preferably salt meat and dry bread and such. I can organize these things, but it would be preferable if I wouldn't have to carry all of these myself. Just in case there's a fight I don't want to go into it in a tired state..." Ratharyn continued speaking. "Do you have a horse or anyhing ?"

@Peregrine
 
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"We shouldn't wait too long indeed," Kallist replied promptly, the faintest traces of tension leaving his shoulders at Ratharyn's agreement. The conversation had gone just as he had anticipated it would. After more than a few failed attempts to figure out the best way to get the alchemist to willingly accompany him on his journey, Kallist had learned that few things were as quick to move Ratharyn's heart than money. Alchemy was not a cheap occupation, and those who hoped to grow their skill would normally need far more gold than their store was capable of earning. That was especially true here in Umitsa, when many people did not even have enough money for food, let alone for the luxury of potions.

Further practice and refinement had helped Kallist find the exact amount of gold required to move Ratharyn's heart, and how much more he needed to promise in order to get the man moving quickly. Of course, the promise was empty. By the time they finished this journey, Ratharyn would have far bigger things to worry about than gold, and they wouldn't be coming back to Marakit any time soon. Despite all the money that Kallist carried on him, every cent of it had been earned through his blood, sweat, and tears, and he had no intention of letting so much as a copper go wastefully. They would need this money later on down the line.

"A few hours is fine. I have two horses prepared, waiting in the stable at the west gate." Another lie, one of many, but this one was by far the smallest. By the time Ratharyn finished his preparations, Kallist would have used another couple gold to purchase suitable horses from the guard's stable. "Meet me there when you are ready to go."

With those parting words, Kallist turned towards the door, but he paused before he left. "Oh, and these words should be unnecessary, but don't think of running away with the upfront payment." In truth, Kallist wasn't worried about Ratharyn leaving with the money, the man was nothing if not loyal to his agreements, but he still had appearances to uphold. "I'd hate to have to track you down if you did something so foolish."

And then Kallist was gone, not bothering to hear Ratharyn's reply to the rather insulting words. He still had a few stops to make before he and Ratharyn left the city.

The pieces were falling into place nicely, but it didn't seem to please Kallist. After all, they still had a long journey ahead of them, and this was only the easiest step.
 
Kallist left Ratharyn behind rather irritated. At first that small man made a sudden apperance only to toss away a large amount of gold without doing as much as twitching with his eyebrows, then he expressed so much doubt about the loyalty of the guy he had just hired that he actually threatened the latter. This was not exactly standard procedure, but even if one forgot about all of that it still was flat-out rude to leave without as much as a humble goodbye or so. If there had been any chance to say something against that kind of demeanor Ratharyn probably would have done so in order to defend himself, but before his lips could even part the door had already given the clear indication that Kallist no longer was in the room. The alchemist sighed, collecting his mind in order to find out precisely what he'd need to buy and organize while trying to neglect this disturbing aspect of his 'customer'. Hopefully said aspect wouldn't raise its ugly head all too often...

To those new to Marakit the place could come accross rather odd, if not even straightforwardly inefficient with its industrial sectors separated from each other so strictly. It made ways of transportation inside the city longer than was usual since houses and workshops weren't as intermixed as in other capitals, but on the other hand finding a place where certain things could be bought was much easier since everything was concentrated. In other words: Ratharyn, as someone who had been living here for many years, was fast.

'A few hours' was not a precise deadline, but even if it had been a mere two hours he still would have made it in time to the guard's stables. Yet still the alchemist's intimidatingly huge, V-shaped body turned around the last corner too late in order to notice that Kallist's definition of already having horses prepared was complete garbage and that he actually had manged to get those just in time.

"So there you are!" Ratharyn addressed him, dropping a few rather large linen sacks filled with food, water and other supplies as he approached Kallist for a shake-hands. "I have bought salt meat, water, lots of bread, firestones and some other stuff. Should suffice for at least two weeks I'd say!" Though honestly he was anything but sure if their journey would last just that long. Given the amount of gold a different scenario was very well possible, but then they'd have to stop by and buy new stuff in one of the smaller villages.

The alchemist inspected the horses Kallist had bought. "Fine beasts!" was his comment. Deep inside of him he knew however that pretty much any horse had a massive tendency to cave in quite considerably under his weight. He had no idea that Kallist probably knew about that as well already...

@Peregrine
 
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Immediately after leaving Ratharyn's store, Kallist made his way to a bar on the west side of town, where he found a half-drunken knight slumped over the edge of the table. Several rounds of drinks later, and Kallist had conned his new 'war buddy' out of his two horses.

Originally, Kallist had found this knight by happenstance, and he was as much the reason Kallist came to Marakit when he did as Ratharyn was. He'd learned very early on in his travels with the alchemists that normal mounts weren't able to maintain a full day's journey under Ratharyn's weight, even if they traded regularly, while the draft horses that could easily carry his burden weren't able to move fast enough to escape the threats that would come to find them once they got a bit closer to Kallist's first destination.

The only horses capable of meeting Kallist's needs for the early part of this trip were the carefully bred, imported knights horses, but those weren't easily seen, let alone purchased. This knight would greatly regret his moment of rashness when he finally managed to wake up tomorrow from the small sleeping draft Kallist had slipped into his last beer, but by then both Kallist and Ratharyn would be long gone, and his memories would be too unclear to be able to pick out the person who conned him out of the steeds either.

Once the knight was fully asleep, Kallist left the inn with the knight's token firmly in hand. The stableboy who Kallist went to find after that was more than a little reluctant to let the horses go with the strange man, but he ultimately couldn't do anything about it when confronted with the badge Kallist gave him in exchange for the horses.

The two Andalusians, one white one dappled grey, pranced anxiously near the gate, before calming under Kallist's touch as he saddled them for the trip.

"Good, you're here." Kallist glanced over at the larger man, nodding his head in approval at his quick description of the supplies. "The grey is yours, at least for the first leg of the trip. Load up the bags on the white, then we'll leave."
 
Ratharyn nodded appreciatively towards Kallist. It seemed the man could not only pay very well, but also was capable of organizing things in a reasonable amount of time. The horses looked well cared for and strong, nothing less than the alchemist would expect from the kingdom's armed forces. They were small and stood no chance against either of the warfaring nations surrounding them, but that didn't mean they weren't proud and strong. The journey would go on well, or at least so Ratharyn hoped for. One could never know what kind of nasty surprises one would face -- and so far Kallist had been prone to make for surprises.

The alchemist picked up the two linen sacks he had dropped previously and approached the white Andalusian. There were enough saddlebags to stow away everything, even though it took several attempts and quite some time in order to find the arrangement that allowed everything to fit into them nicely. Things were tight, but luckily Kallist did not appear to be a particularly large man. Much unlike Ratharyn himself. His grey horse didn't have to carry anything except for the weight of him and his rather thin clothing, but still Kallist would be able to hear the stirrups creak and the horse grunt loudly as his companion mounted.

The steed's back now was sagging quite noticeably and it was obvious the horse was extremely weighed down by its rider. Ratharyn however would have opted to walk if he hadn't known about the surprising sturdiness of those creatures. Umitsa's cavalry was pretty much as elite as it could be given the degrading reliability of supplies, so he knew they wouldn't face too much of an issue as long as they wouldn't insist on going fast each and every day -- something Ratharyn silently hoped for of course as he was looking towards his contractor. In his own opinion he just was... a little heavy. He had gotten quite used to it, not seldomly to the astonishment of those around him.

"Would you like to take the lead or would you prefer just guiding me verbally from behind ?" A rather superficial question at first glance, but even though Ratharyn could only call himself a far cry from an experienced mercenary and escort it still seemed to be perfectly logical in his mind that this could make a difference: Sneaky attackers had a tendency to come in from behind, while more brutish bandits just blocked an innocent traveler's path in front of him. Not all roads were wide enough to allow two men to ride next to each other.

@Peregrine
 
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