Yawar - the world of adventures

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Waking up was nothing new to Ashfa, and by the time sunrise had come and passed, she was already up and packing up her side of the camp she shared with her friend and companion, Ylva. She was feeling excited- even though she had been born in far east Yowwky, she had never really had a chance to spend much time by the water side, and this had only continued as she grew older and began to travel by herself. Paitore was a place she had never really visited save the outskirts, and she was excited to get close and see the ships by the docks.

Not only that though. Ashfa would bet Paitore's markets and bazaars had quite a lot to offer, and maybe even something interesting enough for her friend to stop and ponder over. For herself, the idea of excited new medicines or herbs from lands far away was more than a motivation to get moving. If she stood up straight and strained herself, she could see glimpses of the ocean in the horizon. However, they were still a good walk away. Their camp was hidden from the local people amongst the sparse forest. She could see the smaller and rather plain houses made of humbler materials than what would be in Paitore.

Smiling, she stood up and slung her medicine bag over her shoulders, ready to head out. They had slept, eaten breakfast, and she at least had her belongings all together. Paitore and its ships awaited!

"What luck," she said, hands held loosely together. "I overheard people speaking when I headed out earlier." Her curiosity had been triggered and so she had wandered close to a small settlement. It wasn't very pleasant, seeming rather dank and filthy, but she was able to catch ear of some exciting news. "... there's a ship, a new one at the docks. It could be... maybe we'll find something interesting? Maybe you could even sell something..." She raised an eyebrow as she looked to Ylva.

@Applo
 
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Ylva Uærlig​

While the sun rose and Ashfa started to pack up her part of the camp, Ylva buried her head in her arms and rolled on her side to shield herself the from the mornings light. One of the few advantages of living the life of an outlaw was that early starts were generally the exception rather than the rule. Besides the pair had been traveling for days and the feeling of just doing nothing was one that Ylva was quite enjoying. It took Ashfa depositing a plate of food next to her head to rouse Ylva enough for her to sit up.

As she ate the food, Ylva watched the pillars of smoke that were beginning to rise from the town and idly wondered what sort of place it was. The time before entering a new place was always an anxious one for Ylva. In her line of work it was good to make a habit of spending time in places where no one, guards especially, knew your face. The problem with that though was that more often than not she had only the most basic of information and a handful of assumption as to what ahead of her. If it hadn't been for Ashfa, Ylva doubted she would have even of made her way to this particular town.

here wasn’t anything wrong with Paitore. It was as good a place as any other town for Ylva to make some coin, but that was just it, any other town would be just as good. The reason the pair were on the outskirts of Paitore right now was that Ashfa loved to spend time beside the sea and seeing her friend so excited was worth a lot of coin to Ylva, not that she would ever admit it. Her stated motivation for coming here was all business.

When she finished the last of her breakfast Ylva set too packing up her half of the camp. It was a task the didn’t take her particularly long, her part of the camp having consisted pretty much of her pack and bedroll. It was while Ylva was making a final check that she hadn’t left anything behind that Ash told her the new she’d over heard.

That’s good to know. Sailors were one of Ylva’s favorite type of customers. Generally when they made port all they cared about was having as much fun as they could before they had to re-board their vessel which would often lead them to the poor life choices that Ylva had for sale and Ash avoided talking about. As an additional bonus they had the benefit that they often disappeared back to sea as quickly as they arrived depriving judicious watchmen of potential information.

Well if you’re ready, let’s go see the sights what kind of place this is then.

 
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Viaryn
It was bright. The sun had peeked out from its cover over the horizon and illuminated the buildings and various structures of his town, Paitore. Viaryn had woken up to the sound of birds perched by his window. He leaned up in his bed and looked around, his room a mess from the countless week of neglect. It was littered with books scattered across the floor, clothes hung from the strangest places, and his desk a disaster from the sheer volume of work done during the past few days. His face contorted into a mask of disgust at the sight, "This is ridiculous. Gross." He raised his left arm up to rub his face, before reeling back at the feeling of icy daggers piercing his skin. His prosthetic arm was cold to the touch. Viaryn took a moment to inspect it before stretching his arms out. The young deorusm slid out of bed and proceeded to make an attempt at tidying up before starting his day. Overall, he was able to take care of his books and clothes before deciding that the rest could wait. He needed to get ready for work before he was late and got yelled at.....again.

With the items taken care of and sorted, he walked over to his closet and opened it to choose his outfit. Viaryn dressed in a cream-colored button-down shirt, faded brown slacks and selected a pair of black loafers he had recently cleaned and fixed the best he could. At a glance, one could still tell that they had been damaged, but he didn't mind at all. He looked over to his desk for his watch, sketchbook, and other items and trinkets he carried around. Turning around, his gaze rested on a trench coat that sat at the foot of his bed, hanging on the railing. Walking over to it, he picked it up and slipped it on with little difficulty. It was a light brown color with stitches around the left shoulder area and newly fitted buttons. At his age now, he'd grown into the coat considerably well and never left home without it. His hand dug into the breast pocket and pulled out a picture of his dad, a stout, but burly man with the short, blue-tinted hair and a goatee. Viaryn's mother told him that he looked similar to his father, except he was taller and his hair stopped at his chin, yet the resemblance was indeed, uncanny.

Stuffing the picture back into his pocket, he sighed and walked out of his room. He peeked into his mother's room and found her still asleep. He walked over, leaned in and kissed her on her forehead before heading into the kitchen to make breakfast. He made something quick and simple for himself, but made his mother a full meal and left it covered on the table with a note. Viaryn, then opened the front door and looked outside to the morning sky. Signing his bag over his shoulder, he patted his breast pocket and slid a silver pocket watch into his pants pocket, "Another day begins, huh Dad?"
 
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Viaryn
As Viaryn traversed the busy streets of Paitore, he passed by several communities of beautiful homes and streets that were littered with people of all kinds. He took in the sights and stood in awe before realizing he was going to be late as he checked his wristwatch, "Oh shoots, better hurry or Mr. Bedlam will be mad at me again!" Darting down the streets, he ran into the marketplace and spotted his boss setting down a pot of spice. Viaryn could already tell that he was going to be yelled at again, "Why do I always get distracted by the houses," he thought to himself as he braced himself for Mr. Bedlam's booming voice. Instead, much to his surprise, his boss tossed him his apron and told him to man the shop. The boy looked at the apron and back up to see his boss walking away, "Wait what, alone?! SIR?! MR. BEDLAM?!!" Viaryn held the apron in his hand and was at a complete loss. Normally he'd be yelled at and hit on the head for being late, but this time was different. "SORRY I WAS LATE! I GOT DISTRACTED BY THE- and he's gone..." He shouted and proceeded to walk into the shop, the door's bell ringing as he pulled open the front door. Viaryn walked inside setting his bag down behind the counter and taking off his coat to prepare for his shift.

The shop was fairly small and not in the best shape, but its shelves stacked with various goods and items for everyday use. From the counter, he could watch each customer as they walked in and out to make sure nothing was stolen. Business here was quite frequent and Viaryn mostly took inventory and assisted customers, while Mr. Bedlam would loiter behind the counter to ring up purchases or to bark packaging orders at him. As he stood behind the counter, he rolled his sleeves up and took out a jar of metal polish for his arm. It was looking quite dirty from collecting dust and random debris from working and he'd neglected it for far too long. As he polished the prosthetic, he watched outside the window as people walked by. Satisfied with the result, he set off to complete whatever he could do in the meantime.
 
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The walk to and then through the city had been longer than Ashfa had expected, due to the crowds of people walking about. After being on the road and travelling for quite a while, it seemed she had forgotten how crowded cities could get, especially on days like these. She had literally grabbed the end of Ylva's coat, holding on tightly so that she wouldn't be whisked away from people walking in the opposite direction. Unlike her partner, she was rather small and it wouldn't take much for her to literally be lost in a crowd like this.

"So many people... so many colours... it's quite grand, isn't it?" Ash didn't really expect a response from the other woman, unsure if she even heard her, but it was nice to speak her thoughts out loud when she knew no one else would bother to overhear her. The nice thing about crowds such as these was that they were good to hide in, to be inconspicuous. Everyone was so busy and wrapped up in their own affairs that they wouldn't pay either of them heed.

At last the two reached the cliff that looked down to the harbour. Ashfa rose up on her toes in excitement, eyes bright and cheeks flushed as she took in both the sight of the ships as well as the water beyond. She breathed in deeply, practically tasting the salt in the air. It was invigorating.

However, there were still things for her to do in the city. Having been travelling with the barest minimum stops for more than a few weeks had left their supplies depleted. Food was a necessity, but Ashfa was more concerned for her medicinal plants, perhaps a new mortal and pestle, and other such smaller odd items.

"You probably have things to do here..." She looked to Ylva, smiling at her friend. "And I know you'd rather I was not around... so how about I go back into the city and buy supplies? Once I'm done I'll return here... latest by evening."

@Applo
 
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Ylva Uærlig​

Ylva felt conflicted about crowds. On one hand she quite liked them for the anonymity they afforded her. In a crowd like this she could move without the town guards or anyone else giving her a second glance. Even the scars of her face drew nothing more than the stares of curious children. On the other hand though, Ylva hated having roughly twenty other people in her personal space at any given moment and having to constantly forge a path through the living maze of bodies.

"So many people... so many colours... it's quite grand, isn't it?"

“It’s alright I suppose.” Ylva said, stealing a glance at their surroundings. Truth be told this town looked pretty similar to the other similar sized towns she had visited over the years, busier right now maybe, but still broadly the same. Not that she had the heart to tell Ash this. Her friend had an enthusiasm for seeing new places that Ylva wondered if she had ever had when she was that age. Regardless she had no intention of squashing it, even accidentally. It wasn’t an easy life they lived and it was nice to see Ash enjoying herself.

By the time the pair finally made it to the cliffs that overlooked that city docks, a little of Ashfa’s excitement had spilled over to Ylva and just for a moment she shut her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the breeze running through her hair and smell of salt creeping up her nose. Opening her eyes again, Ylva cast a sidelong glance at her friend, grinned slightly and then returned her gaze to the scene in front of her. It was only now that she really paid attention the the large battered ship that was slowly lumbering its way into port.

Sailors were some of Ylva’s favorite clientele. As a rule, when they came ashore they tended to be flush in coin and in need of the sort of remedies for prolonged boredom that were Ylva’s stock-in-trade. And as a bonus they tended to leave town fairly irreversibly almost as quickly as they had arrived. Ylva always preferred customers who had set departure schedules. There was so much less chance of them hanging around to answer annoying questions like ‘Who sold you this?’ and ‘What did she look like?’

"You probably have things to do here… And I know you'd rather I was not around... so how about I go back into the city and buy supplies? Once I'm done I'll return here... latest by evening."

For a moment Ylva thought about what Ash had said. “That’s probably for the best.” Truth be told she wasn’t wild about the idea of splitting up so completely in a town that was quite so busy but there was truth in what Ash said. Besides the girl was an adult and perfectly capable of taking care of herself, and they did need supplies.

With the feelings of unease in her stomach mostly quelled Ylva turned to start heading down towards the hustle and bustle of the docks but paused after a few steps. “Watch yourself and trouble finds you hide where we slept last night.” Ylva wasn’t the type to hug, instead giving Ashfa a reassuring smile, as much for herself as her friend and then restarted her journey down towards the ships below.​

 
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Ylva Uærlig

Ylva moved much faster on her descent into the docks. Partly this was because she was heading downhill but it was also because unlike Ashfa, she had no interest in observing her surroundings in any more detail than that that could be done at a fast walk. That being said, Ylva wondered if her friend would have been quite so interested in this part of the town. While the rest of the settlement hadn’t exactly been a marvel of architecture, at least to Ylva’s mind, the buildings here were more brutally functional in design and densely packed, making use of every inch of space between the cliffs and the sea.

For a while Ylva weaved her way around the docks, striding back and forth along the various alleyways and thoroughfares while she worked out where the best place to set herself up for today was. Eventually she opted for an alleyway leading away from the doors of one of the busier bars in the area. The alleyway was already well populated with ladies of the night, some of whom were less than pleased to see an unknown newcomer settling onto their turf but a few strategically handed out samples and well placed words was enough to soothe the ruffled feathers as the ladies realized that Ylva wasn’t a competitor.

For Ylva, the cost of the samples was money well spent. Most importantly, they acted to indirectly advertise her and her wares to people who today at least, were sinking deep into a well of poor life choices but might otherwise pass on the bliss that Ylva had to offer. Secondly, they served to make sure that other occupants of the street were at worst ambivalent towards Ylva, allowing her to hide amongst them. In a place where she didn’t know the every detail of daily life, whores made things a lot easier. They and Ylva needed a similar environment in which to ply their trade and they were hyper aware of changes to those conditions. For Ylva they were almost like canaries in a mine, if they were suddenly trying to not be somewhere then it was a good bet that Ylva should also try to be somewhere else too. The only negative with hiding amongst whores was the occasional person trying to get a little too personal and that was an easy enough problem to solve.

Once Ylva found a spot she was happy with, she spent a few minutes rearranging the contents of her bag so that her products would be easily within her reach and yet still hidden from the casual observer whilst at the same time filling a small pouch hung on the back of her belt an assortment of her wares for immediate access. That done, Ylva pulled of her dark coat, placing it neatly behind her bag, and then loosened the top strings of her tunic a little in an effort to look slightly less conspicuous before settling in to wait for business to come her way.​

 
Ashfa meets Viaryn

Giving Ylva one last wave, Ashfa turned away from the docks. She knew she needn't be worried about the older and much more experienced woman, but it was difficult to simply be at ease. Hopefully whoever she met wouldn't be too shady and would buy whatever Ylva had to sell.


As for the young deorsum, she made her way back into the crowded city. With no one to follow, it was rather easy to get lost and not even know it. For a while she simply let herself be pushed along with the crowd, trying to see over the taller people for some shops that might catch her eye. There were many stalls that did, but alas to get to them was a trial in itself. Her first few attempts involved disgruntled looks and muttered swears; thereafter she decided not to try.


Quite some time passed before Ashfa finally made it out of the main hub of the city. Letting out a sigh, she leaned against a wall, simply watching the others pass as she took a sip of water from her canteen. All that walking and being shoved about left her quite thirsty. When she finally finished, she secured the stopper in her canteen before actually taking note that she had taken refuge by a shop.


"Might as well start here," she said to herself. With only the slightest hint of trepidation, she entered the shop.


For the past few hours, Viaryn had been going down his usual list of work and checking off the things that he’d completed already. It had been nearly 2 hours since the shop had been left in his hands and for his first time, he could confidently say that it had been going quite smoothly. Most customers had simple needs and their items were easy to find, as well as they themselves being very nice and kind.


He made his way back to the front of the shop and leaned against the shelves behind, being extra careful not to hit anything that Mr. Bedlam considered valuable. The last thing that he wanted was to lose pay, especially since he was extra late today. Hopefully his boss would be proud of his work today and decide not to dock any at all. The bell jingled and he looked up to see a young deorsum woman entering the shop. Moving closer, he cleared his throat and spoke as politely as possible, “Good Morning and welcome to the shop, feel free to browse to your heart’s content. I’m Viaryn and if there’s anything you need at all, don’t hesitate to ask.”


"Oh!" Ashfa jumped a little, flushing a little when she realized she did. Of course there would be someone to greet in a shop. What did she expect? "Um... good day to you too...Thank you." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, thinking of what to say in reply to his cheerful welcome. "I... I shall..."


She looked away from the fellow -Viaryn, she reminded herself- and looked towards the various shelves to see if there was anything she might need. It seemed as if this place wasn't dedicated to only one type of thing; she could see variety of different items up for sale.


"I...um I'm looking for-" She paused, realizing she had never introduced herself even though the shopkeeper had. "Forgive me... I forgot to mention my name... it's Ashfa." She inclined her head a little before continuing. "Do... do you have a mortar and pestle?"


Upon closer inspection, Viaryn noted that she was very pretty. Occasionally he would go back to toying with his arm, finding little things to either repair or tune up due to the discomfort it brought him. The sound of her voice caught his attention as he looked back up at her and could tell that she wasn’t very social. Judging by her reaction entering the shop, she may be new in town or was returning for the first time in years. Though he felt that it was the former.


“That’s a pretty name. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said with a smile, bowing slightly and turning to pull a book from a shelf, “Mortar and pestle...Hmm, we received a shipment of goods a couple days ago….Ah, here it is,” he spoke to himself in a low, hushed tone. Jotting a couple notes down, he checked a couple more things to confirm, “Perfect, we do indeed have the items you require.”

Viaryn set the book down and began to walk from behind the counter, “If you would be so kind as to follow me, it should be in the back over here.” He pointed to the top of the back shelves and proceed to procure a ladder so that he could reach. Setting it down, the young deorsum climbed up and reached for the requested items and inspected them to make sure they were in good condition for purchase. After confirming that they were good, he slid down and tucked the ladder in a corner.


”Here you are,” he said, handing the items to the young woman.


"Oh...uhm thank you very much." Ashfa held them gingerly at first, looking over to make sure they were fine and not faulty like the previous ones she had found. Once she was satisfied, however she reached for her money pouch, willing to pay right away for it. She wasn't one to simply waste money, but if she needed something and knew the price was right and not inflated, there was no reason for her not to.


She blinked, her free hand patting at her waist for her pouch. "It's... it's gone!" The colour seemed to drain from her face. "My money... someone stole my pouch..." It was hard to say it out loud, as if she had to drag the words out of her mouth. "Someone... in the crowd... I should have been more careful..."


Her mind was at a loss. What was she going to do? Most of her savings had been in there. She had gotten so used to being in the wilderness where thieves didn't matter that she had foolishly forgotten to keep her coin someplace safer.


"I'm... I'm sorry, but I can't buy this now..."


Well this was a first, but also not completely unexpected. It was quite common for outsiders to lose coin when first arriving in town. Especially around market areas, local thugs would blend in with the crowd and steal from unsuspecting folks. He would have almost experienced it firsthand if it weren’t for his time spent being a shoe shiner and watching people come and go. Viaryn sighed and rested his left hand on his hip while his right was scratching his tilted head, ”Well this doesn’t sound good….Hmmmm….”


He stood very still for a moment, softly speaking to himself trying to figure out the best course of action. ”She definitely doesn’t seem to be the type to commit a crime, but I can’t be too sure. Mr. Bedlam would be angry if he found out i’d just given merchandise away too. I could just offer to hold the items for her until she can get the money to pay for it….That seems like a good option to me.”


Settling the issue in his mind, Viaryn smiled reassuringly and clapped his hands together, ”I’ll tell you what, I can hold these for you if you want until you can find a way to pay for them. Does that sound fair to you, Miss Ashfa? I can tell that you are trustworthy enough and I’m not the type to be really harsh.”


Ashfa thought it over for a moment before letting out a small sigh. It was kind of him to offer, even if it wasn’t the mortar and pestle she was worried about compared to her missing purse. “Thank you… that is very kind of you. I… my companion should have some money on her… I will probably come back tomorrow to buy it from you.” It would be embarrassing to ask Ylva for money since she’d always proved herself to be useful in money matters. Still, there was nothing else to do.


I’ll pay her back soon enough. Once she had the supplies she needed, she would be able to make her usual medicinal balms, tinctures, as well as brew other concoctions that she could sell for good money


She took a deep breath and nodded at Viaryn. “Thank you once again… I’ll take my leave for now… but tomorrow I’ll surely come again. Your shop is very lovely.” She bowed her head before heading for the door.


In response, Viaryn took the items and put them aside for her. He followed behind her as she made her way towards the door and walked back behind the counter. As she took her leave, he waved and smiled, “May fortune smile upon you and many thanks for the compliment!” With that done, he sank back into his reclining position and sighed, rubbing his fingers along the bridge of his nose. Knowing himself, he would probably take it upon himself to try and find it. Luckily, he might know some people who would, but it would also be his biggest problem given the nature of his relationship with these people.[/hr]
 

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Ashfa paused in mid-step when she heard the woman's words. She might have been shy and didn't speak much, but it certainly didn't mean she was deaf. There was a crease on her forehead and a tremble to her lips as she turned away from the door, though as soon as she saw the woman, any idea of saying something to the woman left her. She wasn't Ylva, she was just a small thing who didn't like confrontations. Letting out a small breath, she quickly opened the door and exited.

Outside, she stood by the shop once more, though this time it was with her backpack off on the ground. Perhaps she still had some money stashed in there with her herbs? She knelt down on the ground, ignoring the small pebbles poking her legs through her skirt as she riffled through the backpack.

Nothing, she finally concluded, head slumping a little. As she sighed unhappily, Ashfa buckled her backpack shut once more before standing up, brushing the dust off her knees. Once she was finally somewhat settled, grabbed her backpack and slung it back on again.

Now what? She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She couldn't buy anything without money... She blinked, recalling the couple of pots of ointment as well as a bottle of tincture in her bag. Looking back to the shop, a look of thoughtfulness came over her. Perhaps she could sell them here for some coin?

With those thoughts, Ashfa re-entered the shop.​
 
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Viaryn

Viaryn watched as Ashfa proceeded to leave the shop and noticed two others walking in. He politely dipped his head and watched as the stocky man perused the shelves of drinks. His companion, a woman who was well-dressed huffed and said something quite rude:

“Finally! I thought that tiny scavenger would never leave, wasting our precious time for naught!”

While Viaryn was generally in a good mood and happy to help any customer, whether they be rude or not, he did not appreciate her tone towards Ashfa. He took notice of Ashfa's reaction and guessed that she, too had heard the remark that came from that woman's mouth. However, he could not say much given his position, so he forced a fake smile and listened to the rude woman's request.

“Hey boy, I need 500 grams of the spice mix ‘Sandy nights’ and 500 grams of ‘Smokey fire’,”

The corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly at her tone, and Viaryn nodded, "Of course, If you and your associate would please wait here for a moment. I can measure them out for you and bring them back."

Turning his head towards the door, he saw Ashfa hunched over and rummaging through her bag. He really empathized with her situation and hoped that something would work out. As he escorted the two customers out of the shop, Viaryn almost bumped into Ashfa, who was making her way back into the shop.

He looked at her and made a quick peek back towards the two. Viaryn leaned in slightly and whispered, "I'm sorry about that, some people in this town are just born that way. If you would wait for just a moment."

Viaryn walked over to the pots of spice, checking the labels for the correct ones and began to fill two bags with the requested spices. As he replaced the lids of the spices, he turned back towards Ashfa as he opened the door for her, "Is there anything that I can help you with?"

 
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Ylva Uærlig

The flurry of activity from the ladies further along the street was like a knock on the door for Ylva. Taking care to seem disinterested, she watched out of the corner of her eye as a trio of men were surrounded by offers of an enjoyable half hour. For two of the group, this seemed to be exactly what they were looking for and they melted away into the shadows with their new ‘girlfriends’. The third man however was clearly looking for something special and Ylva watched him with more scrutiny than before as he made his way towards her. She didn’t feel particularly threatened when the man laid his arm against the wall, blocking her in. He had the walk and smell of the generously sloshed and Ylva was sure her reactions were faster and that she could push him over easily enough.

“Well, ulalalala, what is such a pretty face doing in a place like this? “You wouldn’t happen to go around giving away bliss, would you?”

Ylva had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the greeting come chat up line. Even if the man was doing it to be surreptitious in his search for the goods Ylva sold, it was a shit line that she had heard hundreds if not thousands of times before. Men it seemed weren't overly original creatures as a rule. Still, he was a customer and she was at least sort of pretending to be a whore so she gave the man a sultry smile for the look of the thing.

“I don’t give away anything darling. For five impos though I can give you everything you’ll need to find heaven.”

“Heaven you say? How could I resist an offer like that.”

For a moment the sailor’s fingers fumbled in his coin pouch before his hand withdrew and the coin in his palm saw the light of day. As fast as she could, Ylva grabbed the hand with the coin in it and used it to pull the sailor into what appeared from the outside to be an intimate grasp before letting out a fake sultry giggle. Unseen, her fingers probed the edge of the coin in the man’s hand. When she was satisfied that the sailor wasn’t trying to cheat her, her fingers closed around the coin and a moment later Ylva slipped a thin glass vial into her customer’s trouser pocket, pressing it against the leg to make him aware of its presence.

“A word of advice,” Ylva whispered into the ear by her lips. “Find a nice quiet alley to lie down in before you drink that. We wouldn’t want you walking out of a high window and having a little accident, now would we?” Ylva wasn’t sure if her customers ever heeded her advice but a mixture of her conscience and good business sense made her at least try warn them against taking what she sold them in places where a warped sense of reality could be terminally risky.

For a moment the sailor did nothing to acknowledge what she had said but then suddenly he pulled Ylva into their embrace even more tightly.

“How about I buy another one, and you come lie down with me. I’ve heard that’s a lot of fun.”

For a second Ylva was lost for words, but only for a second; it wasn’t an entirely unexpected situation and Ylva was nothing if not prepared. She couldn’t see the sailor’s face but she guessed his smile had been wiped from it when she heard a sharp intake of breath through suddenly gritted teeth.

“You’re going to let go of me right now,” Ylva stated calmly. “You’re going to let go of me and go about whatever the hell your business is and I’ll put this down to the effects of drink instead of leaving you to bleed in the gutter. Got it?”

At first nothing happened as the sailor processed all the information available to him, but then slowly and gingerly he released his hold on Ylva before taking a step back. He didn’t see the slap coming and stood there mouth gaping as his cheek reddened.

“Now, get lost.” Ylva hissed, the tip of her knife visible in her palm to help reinforce the message. The slap hadn’t really been necessary Ylva mused as she watched the sailor slink away, hand held to his face. It really had felt good though.​

 
Viaryn

Suddenly, he turned his attention back to the two customers waiting momentarily and he looked back to Ashfa. He didn't want to keep them waiting for too long. Especially since they appeared to be the impatient types. So he let out a tiny sigh and stepped inside.

"Apologies again, but if you would follow me inside and wait for just a moment?" Viaryn quickly passed by the two customers and once again behind the counter.

"About time," The woman huffed as she tapped the counter, "Well, how much will this cost? I would like to be on my way soon."

Viaryn nooded, "My apologies, ma'am. I have the items you requested. 500 grams of 'Sandy Nights' and 'Smokey Fire'," he flipped through the price log kept on a shelf on his left and tapped the page with the price on it. "Your total comes up to 20 Impos. And for you sir," Viaryn leaned a little to the right, "I will be right with you, but your total is 15 Impos and 20 Unis."

In response, the older man simply grunted and bid his time as Viaryn retrieved something to wrap up the woman's items. He bundled up the two containers of spice and handed them to the woman after taking her money and depositing it within a safe box that his boss used. As she left in a hurry, Viaryn proceeded to do the same for the round man. After they left, Viaryn had his hands full with several more customers and their orders. Hours passed and it was no longer morning, but well into the afternoon and the boy had been working nearly non-stop. Plopping down on a stool, he pulled out a box of food from his bag and proceeded to take his lunch break.

"Man, I wonder when the boss is going to be back. I don't know how he does it."

 

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"It's... it's fine, don't worry... I can wait." Ashfa didn't mind at all the Viaryn had to leave her to tend to his other costumers. He was an employee after all, and she had just told him earlier than she had no money on her person. She was sure if his boss found out he was wasting time on a lass who couldn't even pay for good, the young man would surely get in trouble. That wouldn't be very nice, especially after how nice he was being to her.

She moved into a corner, keeping herself inconspicuous. After the first comment from the rather forceful woman, Ashfa didn't feel the need to hear anything more than would further sully her mood. To be fair, it wasn't as if she hadn't heard such talk in her direction before. However, the last few years with Ylva had proved much more peaceful, leaving darker times memories that she didn't often revisit.

Watching the blacksmith and the woman was something of an education though. It seemed to her as if the pushy woman was not very nice to anyone, leave alone her. Ashfa's mouth twitched when she witnessed the blacksmith's dry yet rather good comeback to the woman's attitude. She knew she'd never be able to come up with something like that herself, but it was fun to witness.

It was more than a moment that Ashfa had to wait before Viaryn was free though. She had occupied herself with looking around the shop, noting different items that she could buy, including different spices that could make bland food taste better, or those items that would interest Ylva. After this, she decided to head outside, attempting to sell one of her potions, but that didn't fare too well.

The sun was past its zenith when she returned into the shop, hoping to find a free Viaryn so that she could talk to him. When she saw him, she realized he was eating.

"Oh- I'll come back later then." Somewhat embarrassed to have bothered him again when he was busy, Ashfa started backing towards the door yet again.
 
Ylva Uærlig

After the encounter with the overly friendly sailor, the rest of the morning passed without incident for Ylva. It had been a slow start to the day's proceedings. Eventually though the traffic passing through the alley had picked up and so had the number of customers. It would be wrong to say that Ylva’s wares were flying off the shelves, but it was as profitable a morning's work as any other Ylva had had in a fair while. Her investment is the ladies of the street had been well placed. Several of them had brought their customers to her before they conducted their own business. Some of the ladies had even bought what Ylva was selling for their own consumption as far as she could make out.

When the sun’s progression across the sky meant that even in the narrow alleyway the shadows had all but disappeared, Ylva decided to pack up her wares. She firmly believed in quitting while she was ahead. The coin she had made so far today was more than enough to cover any needs she or Ashfa would have for a while. That being said as Ylva left the alley, she handed out a few more samples to the ladies she passed. She didn’t know if she was going to want to ply her wares here again, but it cost her relatively little to hedge her bets on maybe.

With business out of the way for today Ylva turned her attentions to other priorities, of which lunch was at the top of the list. After than she planned to spend some more time exploring the docks. She told herself that it would be for purely business reasons; it's never hurt to have a couple of likely spots for future use. In reality though, Ylva knew, she wanted to explore just to be a bit nosey. Sometime it was pleasant to be a bit of a tourist.

As she pondered what she might find hidden away in the maze that was the docks, an image of the enormous ship she had seen pulling into port earlier flashed across her mind. That ship had essentially had interesting written all over it's ragged sails and Ylva suspected that it might of been at least part of the reason why business had been so brisk today. All in all it was likely something worth checking out and Ylva added it to her to do list. Food first, ship second.

Some time later, with a half eaten pastry that probably contained fish in hand, Ylva rounded corner where the ship had docked and took in the visage in front of her.​

 
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Ylva Uærlig

The congregation that bustled on the dockside underneath the looming mass of the enormous ship had opportunity and street theatre written all over it. Not being on to turn down the chance of either Ylva soon found herself jostling amongst the wealthy folk and lackeys that formed the bulk of the crowd. She had no idea what had drawn such a collection of coin purses to this particular ship, not that she cared. It was a while before she needed to make a move to meet up with Ash and this bore all the hallmarks of being a worthy diversion. Appreciating the small dramas of city life was a habit she had learnt a life time ago in Dalvik. So was cutting purse strings, which Ylva did more to see if she could than out a need or want for the coin she pocketed.

After a while the ebb and flow of the crowd meant that Ylva found herself standing in front of a series of impromptu tables. The objects for sale were of Kiju make. Ylva hadn’t had many dealings with the beast peoples, but she’d had done enough business with a handful of individuals to recognize Kiju craftsmanship when she saw it. The flayed pelt was also a dead give away. Most of the stuff on the tables wasn’t terribly interesting, although out of idle curiosity Ylva still gave most of the items a good looking over. In the end she ended up handing over a handful of coins for a small knife. Unlike the other objects for sale it was relatively plain looking with few distinctive marks. Additionally the blade had seen better days, not that that bothered Ylva. She preferred her blades a little battered, it showed they had been doing their jobs. She could put a good edge on it next time she had some down time.

Before Ylva had a chance to tuck the blade into a pocket she detected a shift in the mood of the crowd. Following the gaze of the people around her, she was soon able to spot why. Down the gangplank of the ship, a Kiju of some variety was being marched, chained and surrounded by armed men which were dwarfed by it. As it came closer Ylva began to realise this wasn’t any ordinary Kiju, well it likely wasn’t anyway. The number of Kiju she had seen in the flesh was limited but even in drawings Ylva had never seen one who looked so, well Human. No wonder such a crowd had gathered if this was the news they had been tempted with. Ylva knew that there were people who would pay a hefty fortune for such a creature.

As the procession continued along the dock Yvla started to get a peculiar feeling about what was about to happen. There was something about the scene in front of her, maybe it was the creatures eye’s, that she recognised from her past. Whatever it was, when the punch came, Ylva stood still not out of shock but curiosity. Part of her marveled at the strength of the creature. Even after being a prisoner for goodness knows how long it nevertheless possessed the strength to throw a man with relative ease and, with a bit of leverage snap it chains. As the guards got back to their feet and some of their colleagues entered the fray, Ylva wondered if the escape attempt had been in vain. The creature obviously had other ideas. With a jump that caused Ylva to reflexively drop to the floor to avoid being hit, it cleared the low wall of barrels and landed in the crowd.

By the time Ylva got back to her feet the creature was already quite someway along the docks and seemed to have an understandable inclination to stop for nothing. With the show clearly over Ylva decided that now was probably an opportune time for her to leave too. The escape would surely draw the town guards. It was so much easier to avoid answering questions like 'who are you' and 'what are you doing here' by just avoiding the flat footed, prod noses if she possibly could. Clearly some of the other spectators shared Ylva’s aversion to dealing with authority. Already a small but steady stream of people was trickling away from the scene and unobtrusively as she could Ylva joined them, slipping into a back alley when she felt no one was looking.​

 
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Viaryn
Viaryn popped a grape in his mouth as he watched Ashfa return to the shop once more. He perked up and shook his head as she tried to exit, "Ah! It's fine if you want to come in! I was just taking a small lunch break, would you care for any?" Viaryn picked up his lunch container, which was full of fruits like strawberries and grapes gesturing it towards her. The young Valekian had taken a mild interest in Ashfa, as anyone would if someone new came in to town and figured that they could become quite good friends. Given it beign her first time in town, he thought that he could give her a tour after work. She had waited patiently for him to finish his business and he wanted to make it up to her for having to wait for so long. His only concern was that his boss might turn her away because she couldn't pay for anything. That was just how business was, and his boss was exceptionally stubborn with the way he handled these kinds of situations. As far as he knew, his boss was definitely not the most benevolent person in town, but that didn't necessarily mean he was a terrible person. In fact, he as quite patient with the lad when he first started out as a clerk. Back when he was still getting used to using his prosthetic arm, he made numerous mistakes. Most of which were quite costly to his boss and his business. To make up for it, Viaryn worked twice as hard to quickly fix his mistakesViaryn waited to see if she would accept his offer before asking, "So Ms. Ashfa, what can I do for you this time?'
 

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It took Ashfa a moment moment to compose herself as the man with the large package had entered the shop and made his way past her. She was relieved to see he was not like the woman from earlier, actually smiling at her before he had continued on his way. It said enough about a person when they chose even the smallest friendly expression to send another's way. At the very least, Ashfa figured that the people here wouldn't harm her in any way.

The offer from Viaryn was unable for the young woman to resist, having not eaten the whole day. She took hold of a few grapes and popped one in her mouth. While she heard what the younger of the men had said, she kept herself from speaking as she looked to the large bow the shopkeeper was holding up. Now whilst she didn't know much about projectile weapons, she did know that Ylva would certainly appreciate a nice bow like that.

"Uhm..." she started, looking between the two. "I- well... I came back to sell some ointments and a tincture I have..." She fumbled with the straps of her backpack as she removed it from her shoulders and set it to the ground. "Also uhm... I may know someone who could be interested in the bow- I mean... that is... if you will be willing to sell it... provided the price is reasonable." She didn't have any money on her, but hopefully Ylva had made something in whatever dangerous company her friend found herself in.

She untied her backpack and pulled out two small wooden pots and a dark blue bottle, setting them carefully on the counter.​
 

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Ashfa was a little saddened when the owner of the shop mentioned the shop wasn't the sort to buy such things, though on a second thought, it didn't surprise her too much. This wasn't an alchemist's after all. Well, at least he was showing interest in what she had brought!

"Ah... well these two-" she pointed to the two pots "-are with an ointment I made to help with mosquitoes... uhm me and my companion travel a lot and we spent a lot of time among trees... it would get itchy." She then pointed to the bottle of tincture. "This I made for sore throats and coughing and even upset stomachs..." Many times eating strange and slightly off foods would attract a myriad of different reactions to the body; it wasn't as if she'd want to eat or feed such things, but such was the wanderer's life. She was always grateful for the knowledge she received from her mentor, Nazir.

It was even less of a surprise to her that the bow wasn't for sale, so she was much less disappointed. It wasn't as if she would have the price anyway. Still, she did wish Ylva was around so she could have at least seen the weapon. Ashfa wasn't much into that sort of thing, but even she knew finesse when she saw it.

"I'll go then... uhm, to the shop you said." She looked to Viaryn. "Uhm, if you're busy... I can go myself." She didn't want him to suffer in the heat just for her sake. After all, she was the one imposing here. "Or... I can wait even... uhm, maybe help around the shop? If any is needed?"

 
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Ylva Uærlig

Once she had been sure she was out of sight of anyone who might have been witness to the commotion at the docks, Ylva let her pace drop to a brisk walk. Running wildly around the city wouldn’t aid her. If anything it would probably draw more attention. People only rán when they were trying to get away from something. Technically, she hadn’t even done any wrong or against the law … in the previous hour or so at any rate. Walking briskly and in a manner that suggested she every right to be wherever she was, that was the best course of action.

To anyone who might have been following Ylva, the route she took seemed totally nonsensical. Her path twisted and looped it’s way through the city streets. Occasionally Ylva would double back on herself, and on a couple of times she made her way through open establishments as if they were merely part of the street. The point of all this contrary navigation was to provide Ylva a chance to catch sight of anyone, or in light of recent events anything, that might be attempting to follow her. She suspected she was being overly cautious, but then that was seldom a harmful thing.

When she was satisfied she wasn’t being followed, Ylva ducked into the shadow of a doorway to work out what to do next. As far as she could see there wasn’t any particular reason to hang around in the docks anymore today. Business had been the main draw to this part of town for her and she had made more than enough coin to make the trip worthwhile already. Additionally the guards would probably be more alert after whatever had gone down on the dock. The fact that that creature whatever it was was loose further only server to further the argument that perhaps it was time for Ylva to make her way back to where the spot she and Ashfa had agreed to meet at.

There was just one problem with that plan. Ylva wasn’t absolutely certain where she was. All her jinking and jiving to make sure she wasn’t being followed had been at the cost of her bearing of where she was. The architecture of this part of town didn’t exactly lend itself to easy navigation. The buildings all looked broadly similar, even more so after the whirlwind tour of the last hour or so.

After thinking on her situation for a while Ylva came up with a alternative plan. She would head for the sea, which she could just about hear. From there she would probably be able to navigate her way back to where she was meant to meet Ash.​

 
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